Unsteady (Mavi AU)

1

A/N: Double update!! Yay! After this I probably update once a week. Adult stuff, work etc get in the way, but anywho, enjoy!

Btw this story will be in third person from now on. I find it easier to write that way.

Mitch finds himself two miles away under the awning of an abandoned bus stop, huddling on a broken bench, hugging his knees, shivering against the late autumn chill. He cries silently, his breaths hitching with every sob.

Troy's right.

He has no where to go. No one to turn to.

He's alone.

He can't go back. Going back now will only prove to Troy that he's right, that he does need him and Mitch wants so desperately not to. There has to be somewhere he can go.

Mitch figures he can rent a hotel room for the night but has to scrap that idea once he realizes that he left everything back at the apartment.

It will have to wait. There is absolutely no way that he was going to just show back up after what just happened. Mitch groans in frustration.

He has to figure something out.

The only other place he can think of is the community college down the road. He had heard Troy mention once or twice how there was a gymnasium door that was never locked. Something about a defective lock, yada yada, Mitch can care less. Troy would go on about how he and his buds would sneak in to smoke in the locker room when he was in highschool.

Again, Mitch can care less. But that fact might be his saving grace. If they haven't fixed the door by now.

It's worth a shot anyway. A warm place to spend the night and the promise of a shower was too good an opportunity to pass up. Mitch stands up with a sigh. It'll be a long walk but the possibility of a place to go gives him a renewed sense of energy and hope. The only thing now is to take the first step.

                              ***

Mitch is half frozen by the time he reaches the school. He can no longer feel his nose and his entire body aches from shivering. He has to find shelter soon.

After half an hour of reading maps, signs and practically walking the entirety of the campus, he finally finds the gym. His hands and feet are numb and his ears sting painfully, but he remains hopeful as he tries the first door.

It's locked.

And so is the next one.

And the next one.

Mitch's hope wanes with every locked door he encounters.

Please... He pleads internally. Please let this one be open.

He places his numb fingers on the door knob and turns it slowly.

The latch engages and the door opens.

Mitch breathes a sigh of relief and rushes into the welcoming warmth and safety of the building. He stands for a moment, rubbing the cold from his extremities, wincing at the prickling sensation of blood and heat returning to his fingers and toes.

He glances around at his surroundings. The gym is vast and dimly lit by security lights. Mitch can barely make out the blue rippling light reflecting off the pool on the far end. Bleachers neatly lined the side of the court, empty and silent. The faint rustling of his clothes echoing in the expanse of the room. It's eerie.

He spots the locker room sign in the distance and hurries his way over.

                             ***

Mitch finds some clean towels, strips off his clothes and turns on the water. The hot shower washes away the cold and soothes his aching body. Mitch's mind flashes over the events of the night and his desperate situation. He's now homeless, spending the night in a college locker room because he has no where else to go, no one to stay with. His family is hundreds of miles away with no way to contact them.

Reality hits him like a freight train.

And Mitch breaks down.

He slides down to the shower floor with his head in his hands, naked, bruised, exposed. He cries, cries until he has nothing left.

And when the tears can no longer fall, he does the next best thing he can do to ease his pain.

He begins to sing.

A/N: And that's that for that chapter. Sorry if it's a little short.

Let me know what you think! :)

I'll update soon!