Time After Time

Too Much

When the pair arrived at the restaurant, all of their friends were already seated and waiting for them.

“Glad you could join us!” Kirstie giggled sarcastically.

“Seriously, this girl here spends so long on his hair!” Scott laughed, nudging Mitch slightly. He then pulled out a chair for the younger man and smiled.

“Oh, such a gentleman tonight!” Mitch smiled, a blush creeping into his cheeks. He then glanced around the table at his band mates, “So, how has everyone been?”

“I’ve been good,” Avi shrugged.

“I’ve been playing Cupid,” Kirstie teased. Scott ducked his head to stare at the table in an attempt to hide the blush that had danced onto his cheeks.

“I met someone,” Kevin said with a degree of nonchalance. The entire table burst out cheering.

“Who is she?” Scott asked excitedly.

“Spill, girl!” Mitch chimed in.

“Can we meet her?” Kirstie questioned.

“I didn’t even know this!” Avi was visibly shocked.

“Well, I’ve been seeing her for about a month now, and she’s really nice,” Kevin said, a wide grin on his face despite the interrogation. The questions continued for a while, and Kevin grew gradually more uncomfortable. Sensing this, Scott glanced at his boyfriend, and the pair shared a look that told them everything they could possibly need to know.

“I’m seeing someone too,” the blonde smiled. Kirstie began to smile like a possessed maniac.   

“I thought you said you were straight, Kevin?” Avi joked. All five members of Pentatonix found themselves laughing.

“So, go on – who is it?” Kevin asked.

“Well, I know that it probably won’t surprise you... and I know it’s a massive risk. But... But not being together was making us unhappy and...” Scott ran out of words to explain his point, and so instead made elaborate hand gestures that only succeeded in confusing the beat boxer and the bass. Kirstie was smiling to herself and Mitch was looking away, blushing furiously.

“A massive risk? Who have you been getting yourself involved with?” Avi chuckled. Scott rolled his eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to regain some composure.

“It’s Mitch,” Scott murmured, staring at his hands, which were resting on the table in front of him. There was a moment of silence before Kevin and Avi exclaimed a phrase in unison.

“Finally!”

“Y-you don’t mind?” Mitch forced out. He was nervous about this entire situation, but, really, this was the easy part. The worst was still yet to come, and he knew it.

“Of course not!” the bass smiled, adjusting his beanie. They were all so calm about it. No one was surprised. It was almost as if they’d know the whole time.

“But what if we break up?” Mitch whispered, suddenly worried about the future of Pentatonix. If he and Scott were to break up, how would the group continue?

“You two not dating was more damaging, trust me,” Kevin joked, but there was a hint of seriousness in his tone. Mitch couldn’t bring himself to laugh, but he allowed himself to wonder what the beat boxer meant. Kirstie watched her younger friend with sad eyes. She somehow felt that they wouldn’t break up, but she also knew that Mitch had a very low self-esteem. Of course he’d doubt Scott, but only because he didn’t love himself the way that he should.

The conversation fluttered on around him, and Mitch just sat in silence, lost in thought. They’d all told him that they wouldn’t break up soon (Scott had even insisted that he’d never leave Mitch, which was sweet) but the brunette was not convinced.

When the time came to order food, Mitch felt himself growing increasingly more afraid. His palms were sweaty, and he couldn’t focus properly. He didn’t want to be doing this. He wanted to eat, the food looked so good. But he couldn’t. There was no way that he could even take a bite. He had to keep Scott. It was more than just their relationship riding on them staying together, Mitch realized. Their careers were resting on it too. Why hadn’t he noticed that before? What on earth could he do? He continued to panic, his brain working too fast for him to comprehend a single thing. His friends had noticed his distress, and kindly asked the waitress to give them a few minutes. Finally, however, after around ten minutes and passed, they managed to drag Mitch from his mind. The brunette looked at his friends with apologetic brown eyes, but his friends would not listen to the words he was trying to say.

“What’s wrong?” Scott asked, whispering in his boyfriend’s ear. Mitch could only shake his head in response, and the grimace on Scott’s face let Mitch know that he knew. He knew. There was no other explanation. Mitch began to feel nauseous. Scott would hate him now, surely.

“I need some air,” Mitch muttered, excusing himself from the table.

“What food do you want?” Kevin called, but was met with a glare from Scott. Mitch sent a quick text to Scott as soon as he had escaped from the building, letting the older man know that he’d try to eat a salad. How many calories were in that? Surely he could eat a little and they wouldn’t know and they’d all forget about it and then- Mitch leaned up against the wall with tears in his eyes as the evening breeze blew into his face. The bright lights around him blurred into bizarre fireflies as his eyes began to spill the liquid that they had been collecting. He knew that no one would come after him for a little while, and he wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. He was cold, and he felt so vulnerable. It reminded him of those nights where he was hurt by men that were supposed to love him. He let out a shaky breath as he realized that he didn’t feel like that anymore. Not with Scott, anyway. He felt safe. Maybe, Mitch thought, maybe they’re right; maybe Scott is different.