Different (Scomiche)

twenty.

I led him into the Shack, both of us waiting for the other four to arrive. I was so happy that Mitch accepted my apology, but it was purely awkward between us since the talk. Ever since we both confessed about our feelings and the whole 'getting over it' scenario. It's just been different.

But I wasn't lying. I did like Mitch. I thought his smile was gorgeous and his laugh was cute, but it was simply a crush and nothing else. Everyone gets crushes. They go away quickly. I wasn't going to go any further than I had.

I hope Mitch felt the same, like it was a little crush that he didn't mind getting over. Any type of relationship was hard to have if you weren't an adult, especially if one was a Different and one was a Normal. That was strictly forbidden.

Everything between Mitch and I was against the rules. Not adults, a Different and a Normal, and we were gay. There was so many ways that this was wrong, so many reasons to just put  aside all of our feelings for each other. It wasn't worth it.

I had made the mistake once with Alex, I didn't want to do it again. Especially to someone like Mitch. He is a good person and doesn't deserve to be marked. Alex had his reasons, constantly pushing it and such. According to what Jake said, apparently he was still pushing the limits a little further with each word he said. I wasn't shocked.

I look over to Mitch. His hair was a little out of place, not settled to one side completely like usual. He felt a little insecure about it, I could tell by the way he constantly tried fixing it. I thought he looked good, sexier. I liked it.

"When are they supposed to come?" Mitch asks, looking up and over to me. I didn't notice it before, but his face looked caked with foundation. I didn't know why, he never had worn it before, or at least not nearly that much.

"10:00." I say, unable to think of anything but the excessive amount of makeup on his face. "It's only 9:55. We are early." He nods and looks down again.

As I finish my words, Kirstie and Esther fall into the Shack, both girls fixing their hair and clothes when finished. Kirstie hops to the ground, sitting next to Mitch and wrapping him into a hug with a light peck to his cheek. He shyly smiles at her. Esther sits in an open spot.

"Avi is running late." Esther says with a smile. "That Different life is hard for him." She jokes. "Just kidding. He forgot to brush his teeth and wouldn't leave unless they were nice and sparkly. I left without him, he should be here any minute." I chuckle a little.

Kevin came only a few minutes later, Avi shortly after. Now that everyone was here, I could finally explain my reasonings for the gathering.

"First off." I say while standing up. "Avi, this is Mitch, Mitch, this is Avi." I introduce them to. They wave and say hi, causing me to smile due to their awkwardness. "Second off, Kirstie and Mitch have never had coffee or eggs. That has to change soon." Kevin shakes his head. As much as he loved his friends and helped us, he tried to stick to the rules as much as he could aside from us. He didn't eat them, but had tried them before. "And third, we need to start being more careful. We need a plan, okay?" Everyone nods in agreement. "Schedule. We need one."

"How about no one comes here before 10:00 and after 10:00?" Avi proposes. We all nod. That gave Mitch and Kirstie time to go to Drakes Den before meeting up with us all.

"That sounds good. And for the Normals, Mitch, Esther, and I, no coming here during class hours. Actually go to the class." Kirstie says and looks to Mitch, referring to the one time he skipped.

"I had a question." Mitch says randomly. We all turn to him. "What do the Differents do when the Normals are in class?" He asks.

"Oh." Avi says. "That's an easy question. We are cramped into The Sanctuary until lunch." The Sanctuary was where the silvers held the Differents during the day. It was a small area for the large amount of us, barely any room to move. It was brutal. I tried to not tell Mitch about it and I know Avi didn't want Esther knowing either, so we left them with the gist of it.

We left out the part about the beatings, screenings, and consequences. We weren't allowed to talk. Only allowed to move if we needed to use the bathroom. If we broke any more rules while being patrolled, we'd be taken straight to Salik. It was horrible, which is why I didn't want Mitch becoming a Different. He wouldn't be able to handle it. I wasn't able to at first either. It was a hard adjustment.

"What's the Sanctuary?" Mitch asks. Kevin looks down while Avi looks to me for some help on what to say. What did we tell them? 'Oh! The place that were tortured everyday!' That wouldn't come off well.

"Its where they hold us until lunch." I say, finally figuring out something to say. I knew Mitch was smart and that he didn't believe me just by the look on his face.

"What do you do there?" He asks, pushing for the truth. He wasn't going to get it, not from me at least. "Scott."

"Nothing, really. Just sit and wait until y'all are released from class." I say with a shrug. I see him shake his head and look down, Kirstie whispering something to him.

"No, Kirst." He whispers back, but it was loud enough for me to hear. "I'm going to head home." He says and grabs the ladder to leave the Shack. Kirstie holds it up and I watch him crawl out, but I didn't hesitate to follow. I climb up the ladder behind him, putting a hand on his arm to stop him. He turns around. "You weren't telling the truth." He says.

"I know." I say. I run my thumb along his jaw bone, shocked when he flinches and moves away. "Apparently you aren't either." He looks down. "Why are you wearing so much makeup?"

"I'm not." He says and shrugs.

"You're not telling the truth." I say. He looks up at me and shakes his head.

"I know." He whispers.