learning to trust. (scomiche au) // COMPLETED

seventeen.

Trigger Warnings: mentions of suicide

****

Kirstie finally manages to get Scott away from the lake and in her car. She didn't feel comfortable leaving Scott by himself near that lake after learning that Scott was going to kill himself. She had so many questions but they would have to wait until later as she needed to pick up Mitch.

Kirstie bites her lip as she pulls up to the house, seeing Mitch standing there and waiting. She can see that he's been crying and looks very upset though he has every right to be upset.

Kirstie gets out of the car as soon as she parks and rushes over to Mitch.

Mitch sobs before falling into Kirstie's arms, hugging her tightly.

Scott finally looks up and blinks a few times when he sees Mitch standing there, already waiting, and definitely surprised to see that he has been crying as his eyes were red and puffy. He doesn't know what happened but just seeing Mitch cry like that makes him upset. Who would ever hurt Mitch?

Scott can think of a number of people actually, but still.

"It's going to be okay," Kirstie whispers as she gently rubs Mitch's back. "I should have stopped you... I knew something bad was going to happen but I didn't think it would be this bad."

Mitch sniffs and shakes his head before pulling away from Kirstie.

"I'm going to take you straight home and I'll explain to your mom what happened. There's no way you're going to be able to hide this from her. She's going to find out eventually since she actively uses facebook, and I think we should let her know the truth from us before she sees those pictures," Kirstie says. "And... maybe she'll be able to find a way to get those pictures deleted."

Mitch slowly nods, feeling too defeated to argue with Kirstie.

"Come on," Kirstie grabs Mitch's hands and starts leading him to the car.

Mitch looks up and stops as soon as he sees that Scott is in the car. He looks at Kirstie with wide eyes.

"It's a long story, I'll explain later. I have to drop Scott off at his place first. I'm sure his Aunt must be worried sick about him," Kirstie says before they walk over to the car.

Mitch hesitates before opening the car door and getting in the back, Scott already being in the front.

Scott glances back at Mitch and bites his lip but he doesn't say anything. They haven't spoken in months and he doesn't want to say the wrong thing when he's so vulnerable right now.

Kirstie finally gets Scott safely back to his house.

"Thank God! I've been trying to contact Scott as soon as I realized he left the house," Aunt Claire says as Scott wheels himself up the ramp. "Where on Earth were you?"

"It doesn't matter," Scott mumbles as he wheels himself into the house.

Kirstie bites her lip before walking up to Aunt Claire.

"I found Scott at the park near the lake. I really don't want to scare you but... I think you should keep a very close eye on him. He was planning on killing himself,"

Aunt Claire's eyes widen. "No... Scott wouldn't,"

"I'm just telling you what I saw," Kirstie whispers. "I've been watching him at school and he seems depressed. I don't know what happened but something happened between him and Mitch."

"That would not cause him to try suicide," Aunt Claire says, frowning. "Whatever... thank you for bringing him back home. I don't know why he left. He knows I don't like him going out alone."

"That's okay. I'd hate to leave but I really have to get Mitch home," Kirstie smiles before turning around and walking back to her car. She sighs before getting in. Mitch had moved to the front seat.

Scott tried killing himself?

Kirstie frowns as she reads the note from Mitch and then realizes her car window had been open so Mitch heard everything she said.

"It's... a really long story and I don't really know all the details. He didn't say anything but when I saw him by the lake, I saw him move closer to the water and I think he was going to try to drown himself,"

Mitch's eyes widen and he shakes his head. He starts to get out of the car but Kirstie quickly grabs his arm and stops him before he could get out, knowing what he was going to do.

"Don't," Kirstie warns softly before reaching over and shutting the door. "I think his Aunt needs to be with him alone first. It's a lot to take in and I'm sure there's a reason behind it but just yet... wait to talk to him."

Mitch frowns and looks down at his hands. He couldn't believe it.

Scott was going to kill himself. If it wasn't for Kirstie... he wouldn't be here right now. The thought absolutely breaks Mitch's heart and he knows that he needs to talk to Scott as soon as possible before it's too late. He doesn't care about his stupid crush. He just wants his friend back.

Mitch reaches over and hugs Kirstie tightly.

Thank you for saving him.

Kirstie finally gets Mitch home, and his mom was already waiting for him.

"Where have you been, and why haven't you been answering my phone calls or texts?" Nel asks.

"Nel, wait... there's something we need to talk to you about," Kirstie says.

"Talk to me about what?" Nel asks, frowning slightly.

"Perhaps... we should go sit down," Kirstie says.

"O...kay?" Nel says before following the two into the living room, where they all sit on the couch.

"So, Mitch was out with Avi last night?" Kirstie begins.

"Yes, we agreed to let him stay the night with him. He seems trustworthy," Nel nods.

Mitch flinches slightly at the word. Avi was not trustworthy.

Kirstie bites her lip and then shakes her head. "He isn't trustworthy," she says. "He... did something horrible to Mitch and I wished I could have stopped him. Um, well..."

"Kirstin Taylor, you better tell me what's going on right now," Nel warns.

"Okay... Avi took Mitch to a party last night and got him drunk and they had sex which led to pictures of Mitch shirtless being put on facebook and everyone saw them," Kirstie says quickly.

"What?" Nel asks as her eyes widen with shock. She looks over at Mitch, who's only staring at his hands. "Mitch... is this true?" She asks. "You went to a party last night?"

Mitch slowly nods, hanging his head in shame.

"Avi's a bad influence. Mitch thought he could trust him..." Kirstie says, wanting to defend Mitch. "Avi promised that he would take care of him and he took advantage of him. Now those pictures are online."

Nel takes a deep breath. "May I see the pictures?"

Kirstie hesitates before pulling out her phone and then showing her phone to Mitch's mom.

"Mitch, this would have never happened if you hadn't lied to us," Nel sighs.

Mitch buries his face in his hands as a couple of tears slip out of his eyes.

Kirstie frowns as she watches Mitch before looking back at Nel. "Isn't there something you could do? It's not good for Mitch to have all those pictures floating around. He already gets bullied enough at school just for being mute. And the whole thing with Avi... it's just a big mess," she says.

Nel sighs. "I'm not sure but I'll talk to those people. Take a screenshot of the guy who posted them..."

"Already done," Kirstie said. "I saved the pictures onto my phone just in case. I don't look at them..."

"I know you don't," Nel chuckles and then she sighs, and walks over to hug Mitch. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. We'll figure something out. I'm not going to let those people torture you like this anymore."