Scott watches Mitch uncertainly as a tear slips down Mitch's cheek and he hurriedly wipes it away, turning his head completely away from Scott presumably to hide more tears. Scott bites his lip and hesitantly reaches out to rest his hand on Mitch's now-shaking shoulders, but Mitch flinches away, furiously brushing away his tears and sitting up again. "I'm fine. It's okay. He doesn't- he doesn't bother me. I'm fine," he murmurs, but it sounds more like he's trying to convince himself. "It's okay. You can cry," Scott says softly, watching Mitch worriedly, but Mitch stubbornly shakes his head. "No. I can't. I have to- I have to p-protect..." He sniffles and wipes away the last of his tears, standing up and running his fingers through his hair.
Scott hesitates again, looking up at Mitch. "Why did... what did J-John mean when he said that he was only letting me stay here so he could... you know?" he asks quietly, and Mitch looks down at him again, chewing on his lip nervously. "We're not usually the good guys," he says simply. When Scott tilts his head with confusion, Mitch sighs but doesn't elaborate.
A thud sounds from just outside the door, and Mitch tenses, his head whipping to stare directly at the door. Scott watches him nervously, but after a while Mitch's muscles relax and he lays back down next to Scott. "Um... What are you doing?" Scott asks confusedly. Mitch curls in a ball, closing his eyes. "I'm going to sleep."
"In here?"
"Yes."
"Don't you have your own room?"
"Yes."
"Why are you sleeping in here then?"
"Because I don't trust John not to come in the middle of the night."
"Oh."
Scott hesitantly lays down next to him and tries his best to get comfortable on the stone floor, but fails, and stares up at the ceiling, a sigh escaping his lips. Mitch opens his eyes to look at him, frowning worriedly. "What's wrong?" he asks gently. Scott glances over at him. "Can't get comfortable," he explains briefly, and Mitch hesitates for a moment before uncurling from his ball. "You could lay on me if you want," he offers quietly, not meeting Scott's eyes as a blush starts to dust his cheeks. Scott bites his lip again, but slowly nods. "O-okay. But, um... will you be okay?" Mitch looks up at him, hardly believing his ears. Alright. Calm down, Mitchell. He's only laying on you because you're more comfortable than the floor. He doesn't love you, and he never will. "I'll be fine," Mitch says immediately, trying his best to hide the excitement rising up in his chest. Scott nods again, and hesitates only for a moment before crawling over to Mitch and carefully settling himself on top of him. Mitch has to keep himself from immediately wrapping his arms around him, trying to do it slowly and not like he's wanted to do it for years. Scott looks up at him, and Mitch smiles nervously. "Is this okay? Can I hold you like this?" he asks, his grip subconsciously tightening around Scott's shoulders — he does not want to let him go. To his relief, Scott nods and sets his head back on Mitch's chest, closing his eyes and finally relaxing. "Scott, if John comes in the night I need you to wake me up, okay? I'll protect you, but you have to wake me up," Mitch murmurs, and Scott nods. "Okay," he mumbles tiredly. It isn't long before Mitch feels Scott grow heavier and hears his breathing even out.
Mitch lets the huge goofy grin he was holding in split across his lips once he's certain Scott is asleep, his heart racing and butterflies fluttering around his stomach. He's touching me. He's touching me. He's touching me. Oh my god oh my god oh my god.
To say the least, Mitch is freaking out.
Then, Scott mumbles something in his sleep, and Mitch freezes, looking down at him concernedly. "Please," Scott whimpers quietly, squeezing his eyes shut tighter and scooting closer to Mitch. Mitch feels his heart break a bit, and he pulls Scott almost totally on top of him, rubbing small comforting circles on his back. "It's okay, honey. You're okay. You're alright. Calm down." Mitch talks to Scott, murmuring soft words of comfort, and slowly the blonde relaxes and sleeps peacefully once more.
Mitch smiles to himself and bends to gently kiss his forehead before closing his eyes and going to sleep himself.
+++
"Wake up, Scottie boy."
Scott's eyes snap open, and he comes face to face with John. John grins and grabs his arm, somehow managing to yank him up without waking Mitch. Scott starts to shake, putting his hands out in front of him as some sort of fruitless attempt to protect himself. "P-please don't hurt me..." he breathes, but John simply growls hungrily and yanks him out.
+++
Mitch blinks himself awake and immediately notices the lack of pressure on his chest.
He hisses out a curse and scrambles to get up, now wide awake.
His eyes briefly scan the room, searching for a sign that maybe he had moved off.
But the room is empty.
Muttering more curses under his breath, Mitch rushes out of the room.
He hurries down the hall, and sure enough, the door to John's room is wide open. Mitch curses again and rushes inside, throwing John off just in time for him to force his tongue into Scott's mouth.
John flies back and hits his head on his bedside table, momentarily falling unconscious. Mitch knows he doesn't have much time, so he hurriedly leads Scott out.
"Listen to me, Scott. Go two doors down to your left. There, you'll meet Kevin. He'll help you. Okay?"
"Mitch—"
"Okay?"
Scott's eyes widen as he sees John get up, and before he can say anything John has latched onto Mitch. He roughly kisses the back of Mitch's neck, already starting to tug Mitch's shirt off. However, Mitch ignores him, keeping his eyes focused on Scott. "Eyes on me, Scott. Focus on me. Go to Kevin. Okay?" he says hurriedly, stumbling slightly as John pulls him back towards the bed yet never breaking eye contact. "O-okay." Scott flinches as John finally gets Mitch to move back a little and throws him to the ground. Mitch ignores this, still staring directly at Scott. "Go."
And John slams the door in Scott's face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*sings* part threeeeeeeee!
