immune ↛ scömìche

07

i hear the voices scream in my head
but i'm safe with you
safe | us the duo

Scott Hoying's POV

"You don't?" Kirstin asked, a twinge of amusement in her eyes. "No, God," I blushed. She previously asked if I had romantic feelings for Mitch — which I don't. I think — and it was embarrassing. I didn't even know why I was getting so flustered over it.

Suddenly, the door to the lodge flung open and Mitch came in, smiling at us. I had gotten to know Alex, Jake, and Todrick more over the days, and I didn't exactly talk to Jay or Kate a lot but I could tell Kate was fun but busy. Jay just was a little introverted. Mitch and I had been here for a full week now and had two weeks left, and then we'd head back to Los Angeles.

"Hey, guys," Mitch greeted. He looked a bit tired, but I've been getting used to it since we've been here. "Hey," I smiled softly at him, and the grin that was on his face never subsided. He rubbed his eye for a second, his eyes darting everywhere as if to keep them open. "Are you tired?" I asked, even though I knew the answer. "You should've slept in a little while longer."

"No, no. I'm fine, don't worry. I just need to do something fun, then I'll sleep later. Like you said, I shouldn't sleep the entire day," he responded. I stared at him for any sign of doubt, and when I found none, I nodded nonchalantly. "Fine."

Kirstie, Alex, Todrick, Mitch and I all headed back to where Jay and Kate were. Jay and Kate were talking and smiling when we entered. Mitch came up to me and found my hand, entwining our fingers until our hands were clasped together. He didn't look up at me as Kirstin started to talk about something — what I wasn't sure of — but my concentration was on the boy holding my hand. Mitch laughed for a moment, his grin making me smile as well. I could see his dimples and how happy he genuinely seemed, but also how tired he was. The fact he stayed up and tried to stay awake was enough to make me smile yet again. He was so cute and so beautiful. Kirstin laughed, which made me snap out of my trance, and then I blushed when I found out that she was smirking right at me. I glanced at Mitch, who had been staring at his feet, a tinge of pink creeping up his neck.

"W-what?" I asked cautiously. "Nothing, I just acknowledged the fact that you were staring at Mitch so adoringly that it caught my attention."

"Sorry," I mumbled sheepishly, releasing his hand from my own and scratching the back of my neck.

"It's okay," Mitch said, elbowing me lightly. "It's cute."

"Oh. Thanks, I guess?" I said, but it sounded more of a confused statement than as a genuine thank you. 

He grinned back at me, and then we all ended up talking about nothing, and luckily I averted my eyes to anyone but Mitch most of the time, which was quite hard to do.

***

"Fuck," Mitch flinched as we were walking back to our cabin. I looked at him with a puzzled expression. We were holding hands but then he stopped abruptly which caused me to almost fall face flat into the snow. It was raining — which was a surprise — and Mitch just stopped when a flicker of lightning appeared, along with thunder.

"Is someone afraid of storms?" I teased. He glared up at me, crossing his arms over his chest. "No," Mitch said, then started walking faster and in front of me. I chuckled, following him and catching up. Another flash and Mitch gasped. "Hey, you okay? We're almost there," I said, actually concerned.

I offered my arm and he huffed before coming over to me and he grabbed my hand again. We walked a bit faster and I kept glancing at him but kept my eyes on the trail. Eventually we made it and I unlocked the door, which made Mitch hurriedly get inside before me. I laughed as I closed the door, and then Mitch walked up to me and shoved my shoulder. "Shut up! I'm sure you have a stupid fear, too. Spiders? Clowns?"

"Nope," I shook my head. "I'm fearless."

"Fearless, huh?" he snickered. "What?" I frowned.

"I find that hard to believe. I know you have an irrational fear of something," he concluded. "I don't. But you do, and that's what we're focusing on," I said, and then another flash of lightning appeared. Mitch immediately went over to the sofa and curled into it, furrowing his eyebrows. All of a sudden, a boom of thunder interrupted the short silence and it became dark. I couldn't see anything, so I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned the flashlight on. I saw Mitch, and he certainly didn't look okay. A tear escaped and I widened my eyes, finding my way to him and gently touched his knee. He looked up and saw me, then ignored me.

"I'm sorry for making fun of your fear," I said softly. He scoffed and suddenly got out of his position, coming to me and immediately hugged me, sniffling. His head was resting on my chest and I hugged him back. "It's fine. I just hate this stupid fear. And you. I hate you."

"Aw," I chuckled, rubbing his arm with my thumb. "I'm sorry. For, you know, crying about this. It's stupid—"

"Don't call your fear stupid. That's like saying a cat's stupid for hating water, or you stupid for being sick," I declared. "Want to know a secret?" I asked some time after that.

"Sure," Mitch mumbled against me. "I'm scared of abandonment."

"Really? You don't have to worry about that with me," he mumbled again, then moved his head so he was looking up at me. We weren't even that far apart—maybe only a few centimeters, but I was so close and if I just moved slightly my lips would be on his. But I didn't do that.

I stared at him, but he just studied my face in the small amount of light we had. He simply smiled lazily, then pressed a feather like kiss to my cheek like he did a few days before. He laid back down on me, which I didn't mind. His legs tangled in mine and he breathed in. I laughed after he did, then spoke. "Did you just sniff me?"

"You smell like mint. I want mint gum now," he murmured. "Mint is good."

"Mint's good? Mitch, are you half asleep? You're saying weird things," I chuckled. "No, no. I'm awake, yes. You're hot," he stated nonchalantly. "Really? Thank you," I laughed, even though my cheeks were on fire. "No. Don't thank me. Thank your parents."

I grinned at how high he seemed even though he wasn't at all. Just a very tired Mitch. He sighed, not speaking, and after some time, I heard his breathing slow down to a regular pace, and I couldn't tell if he was asleep. "Mitch?" I said. He didn't answer, so I assumed he was. "I don't hate you," I whispered, then looked up to the pitch dark ceiling. "I think I might actually hold a big liking for you."

***

a/n:: sorry it's a tad shorter than all the other chapters.

there's another scömìche book im writing, except after 25 days. sorry, im scömìche trash. it's called 'italy' and it's gonna consist of pure FLUFF. ((-: