The Things I Love About You (Completed)

C h a p t e r E i g h t

After a few minutes of just sitting in Scott's room, I go up to roof. Sitting up there has always brought me peace. The sight of the skyline in the distance, the gentle sound of the rolling waves less than a mile from the house, the warmth of the air, which is a direct contrast to Michigan, everything. I lay on my back and stare at the clear sky above me. Every star is easily visible, and despite the lightning in the clouds on the horizon, I cannot bring myself to move from my spot. The air feels fresh and soft when I take a breath, and the warmth spreads through me, makes me feel a little better. I let my mind wander to Scott again, but I am quickly distracted by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. I sit up and lean forward to see. I see Todrick get out of the car, followed closely by Jake and Alex. Alex looks up and see me, raising a hand in a wave. I nod back, knowing that normally we would be much more enthusiastic to see each other. Jake stops and calls, "You're home early." A grin spreads across his face.

"Clearly." I return the smile and go back into the house.

"Where's Scott?" Jake asks after pulling me into a 'bro-hug'.

"What makes you think I would know?" I spit back before I can stop myself.

"Gee, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you left with him and spent the week with his family and yours." he says back, a hand on his hip.

"Sorry, I'm just kind of upset."

"Why?" he asks skeptically.

"We, uh, got into a really big fight. He's really mad at me and left without me. I had to come home with my parents, and I don't know where he is. He's driving home and left yesterday, which means he probably won't be home until at least tomorrow." I swallow the lump in my throat.

"What did you guys fight about?" My cheeks heat up.

"Nothing I can tell you about right now."

"Oh!" he shouts, startling me. "Travis woke up. He wanted you to come when you got home." My stomach sinks, realizing that seeing him is the last thing I want to do, because mine and Scott's fight was over him. But I nod and say, "When can we go?"

"Right now. Come on." Alex says, appearing out of nowhere and pulling me by the hand toward the door. We are soon in his rickety old car on the way to the hospital.

****

When the car stops in front of the hospital, I feel guilty for visiting Travis when he is part of the reason Scott now hates me, but I go in anyway. I see him in his bed, eyes half closed with a tired expression on his face. A long cut on his head runs from his hairline down to his jaw. The corners of his lips turn upward in a smile when he sees me, but then his expression falls again when he doesn't see Scott.

"Where's Scott?" His voice is strained and a look of pure confusion falls over his face.

"Guys," I say, turning over my shoulder to look at Todrick, Alex, and Jake, "Can you give us some privacy?" They all nod and Todrick drags them out to the hall, shutting the door behind him. "You wanna know where Scott is?"

"Uh, yeah. That's why I asked." he says with a light chuckle, wincing in pain at the small action. His smile disappears when I frown deeper.

"Well, believe me, I would love to tell you. But I don't fucking know where he is." He knits his eyebrows together.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought we agreed to forget about New Year's." He looks down at his lap, cheeks reddening.

"I guess you got my message."

"I sure as hell did get your message. Your message is the reason I don't know where Scott is."

"I'm confused."

"Shut the hell up and me finish. I never told you this, but Scott and I have been going out for over a year. He found out that I slept with you while we were together and left without me. I had to come home with my parents. If you hadn't told Jake to tell me that, we would be fine still." At this point, tears are streaming down my cheeks..

"Maybe you shouldn't have slept with me."

"You're an asshole." It takes a lot of willpower not to go over to him and slap him across the face. "I slept with you because I thought you were Scott." He looks hurt, but at the moment, I couldn't care less. "You're my best friend. I don't want to sleep with you. I love Scott more than myself. The fact that he currently wants nothing to do with me makes me want to go up to the top of this building and fall off of it. Do you understand that?" I pause for a moment, trying to compose my thoughts. "Were you fully aware of what we were doing?"

"Of course I was. I don't drink alcohol. I was drinking sparkling grape juice." I start fuming.

"So...you're telling me that when I started calling you Scott, you didn't care? You just let me think you were him. You had to know that there was something going on between us, then. And you didn't stop me or anything." He is silent for a few seconds. "Answer me before I hit you harder than you want to be hit right now." He flinches a little and says, "I'm sorry, Mitch. I wanted you so bad. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt, or Scott. And to answer you, yes, I kind of assumed that something was going on between you and Scott. You were just saying his name, over and over, but it felt so good to kiss you. I couldn't make myself tell you that I wasn't him. I never, ever meant to hurt your relationship with Scott."

"You sure didn't seem to care much about it, or you would have fucking stopped when I said his name the first time. I had twelve glasses of champagne! You know me well enough to know that I get tipsy after one. I didn't know what I was doing."

"But you remember the whole thing." he points out. My hands ball at my sides and I slowly walk over to his side.

"I remember it as a fuzzy memory. Guilt has a way of sticking in people's minds. You don't feel guilty, do you?" He nods.

"I do."

"Don't fucking lie to me." I raise my fist threateningly, and want so badly to hit him. The door flies open before I can.

"Chill out, Mitch!" Todrick yells, running over and pushing me toward the door. I keep walking and don't stop until I am outside. I let myself start sobbing again.

****

A/N
Sorry I'm updating so late. I was busy dying over the new Christmas album.