Anything Goes (Scomiche)

Secret

The last thing he expects when he wakes up in the morning is for Scott to come barreling into the room, boxers low on his hips, cheeks flushed and eyes wide. Mitch sits up quickly, looking back at Scott with his own wide, concerned eyes.

The second to last thing he expects is for Scott to grab all of his clothes off the usual spotless floor and toss them at his face.

"Get dressed."

Mitch just lets the clothes fall into his lap, watching in confusion as Scott opens his closet doors to pull out a clean shirt. "What-"

"My mom's here." Scott says, tone hushed. "Just get dressed."

Despite Mitch's brow furrowing in confusion, he obeys. "What's she doing here?"

Scott sighs, "I don't know. You know what she's like. Likes to pop in unannounced sometimes..."

Mitch nods, pulling his own clothes on from the night before. "Does she know I'm here?" he asks hesitantly, watching Scott change his pants through his eyelashes. He doesn't know if he actually wants to see Scott's face when he answers or not.

"I told her you crashed in the guest room." He replies nonchalantly.

Mitch's heart clenches and his stomach twists painfully. He'd like to say he doesn't know why, but he does- and it's that even after all this time, after being friends for years first then being a.. a thing for over nine months now, Scott still can't tell anyone about them. Scott's still in denial.

"Hurry up okay? She wants to see you." Scott says, walking back towards the door. He stops in the doorway, leans against the frame and cocks his head to the side. "I think she's more excited to see you than her own son."

Mitch lets out a small laugh as Scott disappears before letting a breath out of his lungs he didn't even realize he'd been holding. He breathes out then sits back on the edge of the bed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his legs and bury his face in his hands. His heart is racing, banging hard against his ribcage. He feels sick to his stomach.

He doesn't think he can do this anymore, doesn't think he can go on pretending that he isn't completely and irrevocably in love with Scott. He thinks he's done a good job so far, keeping the true nature of their relationship quiet from everyone- including family and friends- but the longer this lie goes on, the harder it is to sell it. The harder it gets for Mitch to not stare at him lovingly, or want to kiss him, or curl in next to him on the couch while the band is arranging. And the harder it gets, the more frustrated Mitch gets because he just wants Scott to admit it.

He takes a deep breath, grabs his bag and stuffs his phone into it, puts on his boots and walks out to join Scott and his mom in the living room.

"Mitch dear! It's so nice to see you!" she squeals, patting his back as they share a hug.

"It's nice to see you too Connie." he murmurs, glancing over her shoulder to where Scott has busied himself in the kitchen making coffee and grabbing three mugs.

Connie laughs and pulls back to grab Mitch's face in her hands. "You're just like my son you know that? He never calls."

"I do too!" Scott calls out.

"Don't let his bad habits rub off on you love. I hope you call your mother more than Scott calls me."

"Mo-om." Scott groans, rolling his eyes.

"What?" Connie asks innocently, letting go of Mitch's face to look at Scott. "It's true."

"At least I call before flying to another state for an impromptu visit." Scott teases, pouring coffee into two cups.