Black Image [SCOLLACE] (I'M BACK I SWEAR!!!)

|CHAPTER 10|

[DISCLAIMER- THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS EATING DISORDERS & DRINKING ADDICTIONS/DRINKING TRAUMA (not encouraging or making this behavior look cool (cause its fucking not))
More specifically: Scott is still made at Wallace for drinking and ends up making a deal to try and eat more if Wallace stops drinking]

Scott woke up the next morning to see Wallace asleep on the couch. Of course. Honestly, he didn't want to look at Wallace or be with Wallace at the moment so he got dressed and finally decided to go to the rehearsals he'd missed. Once he arrived at Stephens's house he had a big lecture by Stephen on how important rehearsals are and why he shouldn't be skipping them. It's like a parent scolding a child when they skip a class.

"You know we have a show coming up!" Stephen yelled. "I know, I know. I just had a lot on my mind," Scott explained. "You mean your missing girlfriend?" Kim asked. "Well, yeah, that too, but I'm close to figuring that one out," Scott mumbled. "So, you have something else in your mind?" Kim said. "Whatever, let's just get playing," Scott replied, irritated. He picked up his bass and plucked at it. Knives and Neil looked at each other. Scott's usually only cranky when you interrupt him during a meal, but he was grumpy which was concerning.

Everyone seemed worried, but they knew not to pry into it. It seemed so clear that Scott only came to the rehearsal to escape something he'd been avoiding for a long time. Kim picked up her drumsticks.

"WE ARE SEX-BOB-OM! ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!"

***
After they practiced all their songs, Scott was going to leave immediately instead of sticking around like he usually did. Everyone at this point was worried about Scott. He only acted like then two things occurred. It hit Stephen so suddenly. He'd known Scott since high school he knew when something was up. "Scott," Stephen said, placing his hand on Scott's shoulder. Scott looked at him, gripping the strap of his bass case. "Did Wallace come home drunk again?" he asked. Scott looked down in shame. "Listen, go talk to him," Stephen instructed.

Scott shook his head. "Why should I? He's being an asshole. He's acting as if what happened in college was nothing and it would blow over!" he yelled. "Scott, right now he's hungover and probably doesn't remember last night. He can't fend for himself right now," Stephen explained.

That sentence reminded him of all those times Wallace took care of him because of the aura. "Yeah, but it's just hard. He acts like it's nothing but I don't want anything to happen again," Scott whispered. "Listen, I know you're worried about Wallace. You've been his friend for quite some time, but avoiding him won't solve anything. You have to confront Wallace, otherwise he'll keep making the same mistakes," Stephen said. "But he never listens! He said he will but the next day he comes home with... I don't know drunk shit!" Scott yelled.

Everyone pretended as if Scott wasn't yelling and they weren't trying to listen into it. "Then help him. Don't just tell him," Stephen advised. Scott stared at him before he then walked away to put his guitar away.

***

Scott opened the door to their apartment to see Wallace nowhere to be seen. At first, Scott assumed he had left just as he did, but he was proven wrong after he heard the toilet flush from the bathroom. He sighed as he looked over at their mattress. Scott saw Wallace's phone on it, he had the messaging app open to see he texted Scott a couple of times asking where he had gone. He suddenly felt bad as he checked his back pocket to see five new notifications on his phone. Each was sent from Wallace.

The bathroom door swung open and a sleepily hungover black-haired guy stumbled out. He soon spotted Scott sitting on the mattress, staring at him.

"Oh shit. Where'd you go?" Wallace asked sleepily. Scott did not answer, he just kept angrily staring. "... what did I do?" Wallace slowly began. Scott didn't have the guts to begin talking, so he just patted the mattress as a signal to sit down. Reluctantly, Wallace obeyed. When he sat down, he still did not talk. It was a complicated issue to talk about, and an awkward silence happened for minutes on end. "Why do you keep drinking?" Scott eventually asked. "Well, shit. That's what Scott wanted to talk about," Wallace thought.

"I..." Wallace began. To be completely, honest, drinking was the only way Wallace knew how to escape reality. It distracted him. Kept him occupied from the world around him. That's when he felt the safest. "It... helps, I guess," Wallace mumbled. "With what?!" Scott yelled. Scott didn't mean to yell, but he couldn't help it. He knew Stephen said to assist him, but Wallace wasn't going without a lecture.

Wallace looked at Scott with surprise. Scott usually was a chill person for the most part, so seeing him this angry and sad was surprising for him. He knew he just wanted to keep him safe, but Wallace needed this so badly. After everything that happened last time, it was such a blur. He couldn't tell if he was doing this out of spite or for fun anymore. Nothing seemed to make sense at the very moment. Wallace stayed silent.

When the silence stayed, Scott sighed hard. "Wallace..." He began. "No. Your right. I'm sorry," Wallace said. He used his hand to cover his eyes which drowned in his tears. "Why are you doing this? I thought maybe after college you'd make some improvement. But I was wrong. You're still the same guy I knew over seven years ago," Scott explained. Wallace wiped away his tears and looked up at Scott. "It is a way of leaving reality for a while, I guess. Nobody presented me with any other options, so... I assumed this might be the only way," Wallace said. "When... it happened, I thought it was a one-time thing and it'd never happen again. I thought you'd forget about it but you clearly haven't,"

He looked down in shame. Scott forced himself to stare at Wallace. "I know you think that drinking is the only way, but it's not. You can always talk to someone... and I want to help you," Scott told him. Wallace almost began uncontrollably sobbing at this point. "Your hands aren't clean either," he whispered. That made Scott panic. He was referencing his eating problem.

The room stayed silent for quite some time. Wallace knew he fucked up by mentioning a fragile part of Scott's life, but he felt like he had to. They both needed help and neither could help each other. Scott felt useless like he was junk to be thrown away. "Listen, we both need... professional help, but I at least want to help you in the best way possible, so let's make a deal," Scott said. "What kind of deal?" Wallace mumbled, wiping tears away for the millionth time. "A 'it's gonna help both of us' kind of deal," Scott joked. A small smile was on his face which made Wallace copy the same beam.

"If you promise to stop drinking... I'll try to eat meals..." Scott grumbled. Wallace knew this was a big deal now that he revealed the terms. Not only was it going to be difficult for Wallace, but Scott had the biggest problem. He hated trying to get over habits, but he seemed desperate in trying to get Wallace out of drinking so much that he'd make a deal to do the one thing he hated the most. But... it was for the great or good... right?

"Deal,"