Time After Time

The Frog's Fear

Scott’s blue eyes shot open at four AM, his body shaking as sweat covered his skin as unwanted images flooded his mind. His brain had been working in overdrive ever since Mitch had opened up to him less than eighteen hours before. He’d had the brunette’s lips as his distraction earlier, but now the younger man was curled up, lost in a dream and Scott was lost, drowning in a sea of terror. He was scared of all of the possible situations that Mitch had been in, and each and every one that he imagined was at least ten times worse than the previous. He knew he’d have to talk to someone – bottling it all up wasn’t going to get him anywhere – but he was afraid of that too. What if Mitch found out? Scott couldn’t afford to let the countertenor find out – that would hurt him. But so would hiding it from him. The blonde was willing to do anything to avoid hurting his boyfriend. He’d never felt so strongly about someone before, and that terrified him too. The more Scott allowed himself to think, the more scared he grew as he began to realize how many things he was afraid of. He, deep down, knew the majority of it was stupid and irrational. He knew that. But being aware of it didn’t prevent him from being terrified. His thoughts continued racing for around another two hours, and, finally, a sobbing Scott passed out.

When he awoke, it was almost midday and Mitch’s side of the bed was empty. Feeling completely exhausted, Scott rolled onto his side and tried to force himself back to sleep again, alas to no avail. Time passed, leaving the baritone staring blankly at a wall and eventually Mitch wandered in. Scott turned to face the brunette and found himself subconsciously checking the younger man out. Mitch was looking especially gorgeous in all black.

“Ah, good, you’re awake. I’ve made you some food – just let me go get it,” Mitch smiled, pivoting on his heels and leaving. He reappeared less than a minute later with a tray full of various delicious looking foods, “for my frog,” he declared, setting the tray down onto the blonde’s lap.

“Frog?” Scott frowned, confused.

“Yeah, my frog. And maybe, if I kiss him, he’ll turn into a sweet prince,” Mitch mused, grinning before pressing his lips against his boyfriend’s, “Nope, still a frog.”

“Oh, you’re so romantic,” the baritone laughed, rolling his eyes. He wandered over to his side of the bed and climbed on, sitting as close as he could to the other singer.

“Go on and eat, then,” he urged, “I’ve spent all morning preparing this!”

“Fine, fine,” Scott smiled, beginning to sample each section of the food. There were meats, cheeses, some pancakes, a large bowl filled with a selection of sliced fruit, a few sauces and a muffin that was clearly from Starbucks. Scott could see the amount of effort that his boyfriend had made to put together this brunch and he was so grateful for it. It warmed his heart. The blonde looked over at Mitch and tried to smile, despite the fact that Scott had a mouthful of food.

“Ew,” Mitch laughed, “that’s gross!” Scott swallowed and then joined in, laughing along with the countertenor. He loved seeing the younger man looking so happy. It calmed him, and enabled him to stop worrying as much as he usually did. In fact, around Mitch, Scott felt at ease with everything. He felt as if nothing really mattered except the pair of them and their love for one another. Scott found himself grinning goofily, with the younger man giving him an amused look.

“Don’t say a word,” Scott said, feigning annoyance. All Mitch could do was burst out laughing and, within seconds, the blonde had started to chuckle too.

“Eat the food,” Mitch smiled after the two had finally settled down again.

“Only if you have some,” Scott nudged the tray slightly towards his boyfriend, whose face fell.

“No, I made it for you. Besides, I’m not hungry,” the countertenor said, shaking his head.

“I want you to have some, though.”

“I already ate.”

“Just a little bit of cheese?” Scott begged, using adorable puppy-dog eyes to force Mitch to give in. Exaggerating a deep sigh, Mitch took a small handful of shredded cheese and began to eat it slowly as the couple continued their conversation, discussing anything and everything that came to their minds. Scott enjoyed the food he had been given, almost let out a groan of disappointment when he swallowed the last mouthful. It had been perfect. Mitch was so kind and loving, as well as sweet and amusing. He really was the perfect boyfriend.

“I thought we could go hang out with Kirstie and the guys later,” Mitch suggested.

“That’s a great idea. Uh... do they know about us?”

“Kirstie definitely does, but I don’t know if the others do,” the countertenor shrugged. The pair discussed the possibility of announcing their relationship to their friends, but still hadn’t settled on a final decision when Scott declared that he was bored of sitting in bed. “I’ll leave you to get dressed then,” Mitch had said, gathering the tray and leaving with a cheeky wink.

It was only then, as he stood in the middle of his room with a t-shirt pulled halfway over his head that it occurred to him. He’d only seen Mitch take that one small amount of shredded cheese from that entire tray. Even if he had already eaten, the brunette would have taken more than just a few tiny pieces of cheese. Mitch loved cheese.

“Fuck,” Scott whispered to himself, the walls swallowing the quiet sound as he finished putting on the t-shirt. Rubbing his face with his hands, he sighed deeply. The fear began to claw at his mind again as he thought it over. Mitch still wasn’t eating. Scott slowly sat down on the edge of his bed, shaking. He had no idea what to do.