Color

Forty Three

Kirstie left the room to start getting ready for the day.

Avi shook his head a little at the story, looking down at the counter in front of him. "Sounds like Scott, alright."

"Yeah... I was honestly kind of scared of him. But... He treated Mitch so much differently than anyone else, and I always found it kind of cute."

"It is cute." Avi hummed, before looking up at Alex. "I'm almost done with Scott's food. Did you want anything else to eat?"

"No... Thanks though." Alex paused. "Can I ask...? How did you meet Mitch? I mean, you're kind of in the same position as I am. Being the best friend."

Avi shrugged a little, eyes back down on the counter. "Eh... He seemed scared of me, I guess."

Alex leaned both elbows on the counter, smiling at him. "Tell me the story, Handsome."

Avi couldn't help but smile at the name, as he glanced up. He leaned on his elbows too, getting closer to Alex's face. "Okay, let me paint the scene for you... Scott and Mitch had been dating for about... Mmm--" He pretended to ponder. "Twenty minutes."

Alex giggled a little. "Mkay."

Avi remembers when Scott first came up to him, with a small boy under his arm.

Avi had been leaning on Scott's car to wait for him after school, just as Scott had asked him too.

Avi raised an eyebrow. "Takin' this kid home?"

Scott smiled a little as he looked down at Mitch. "Nah, man. This is my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the kid that told you to fuck off when you asked him out?"

Mitch was a little nervous to speak up, but he did so quietly. "That's not... Entirely accurate."

Avi squinted at him a little. "Oh, no? Why don't you explain yourself a little then, Toothpick?"

Scott's arm around Mitch tightened a little. "His name is Mitch, you ass. Be nice, Avi."

"I am being nice." Avi defended, before he sighed and rolled his eyes. "Is this seriously what you wanted to show me?"

"Yeah it is, actually. Excuse me for thinking you'd treat him with respect." Scott practically growled at him.

Avi started to walk away, but when he passed the two of them, he felt a small hand grab his arm. When he spun around, he caught sight of Mitch's apprehensive eyes.

Mitch quickly let go of Avi's arm, and tried to use as much confidence as he could. "I'm sorry you don't like me, Avi. And I know that you're worried, because you just want him to be happy. But that's what I want too."

"You don't understand. You don't even know him."

"I know that. But... I'd like to get to know him. We've only been dating for like... Literally an hour, so. Just give us a chance..? And please don't be mad at him... It's not his fault."

Avi sighed, and looked to Scott with clear annoyance on his face. "You're serious? You really like this kid?"

Scott nodded once, quickly. "Absolutely. And he's right, man. It hasn't even been a full day yet, so. Calm your shit."

Alex suddenly gasped, breaking Avi out of his remembrance. "I can't believe you were so mean to him!"

Avi shrugged. "Sorry... I'd seen Scott's heart broken too many damn times to watch Scott let his guard down like that."

"But it's a good thing, right? I mean look where they are now."

"Yeah, I know... Sorry, I shouldn't have been so awful. I know that now. And... Mitch and I get along just fine, I think."

*

"Scott, what the Hell are you talking about..?"

Scott held up both shirts. "I'm not good at matchin' shit. Do either of these look okay with these jeans?"

"Scott, those are black jeans." Mitch responded, trying to make him realize.

"So..?"

"So? Black matches everything. You could wear those jeans with almost anything."

Scott stared at him, before shaking the shirts in his hands again. "But which looks better..?"

Mitch giggled a little, stepping forward to look at the shirts closer. "Since when do you care about what you're wearing..? Got a hot date later today?"

"Have a hot date every day, actually. But I told Avi I'd come with him to take his car into the shop. He's like.. Anxious because of Alex's try outs. And he hates that he's not allowed to go watch or whatever."

"Ah, I see. So... You guys are gonna leave when Alex goes?"

"Right. Convenient timing." Scott mumbled. "Are you gonna be alright? You can come with us if you want."

"No, no. I'm a firm believer in guy time. And you and Avi are surely in need of it."

"And then you and Kirstie can have girl time, so. Everyone's happy."

Mitch giggled, before pushing the pink shirt toward Scott. "This is the better one, by the way. But... Just to be sure, you should try it on for me."

"Okay."

*

Everyone in the house gave Alex good luck hugs, except for Avi's 'good luck make out session,' which Alex didn't appreciate as much because he felt embarrassed.

Mitch even walked him out to the car, holding his hand as they walked into the garage. He waited for Alex to toss his soccer back into the back of the car, before he began. "Alex, I need you to listen to me for a sec, okay?"

Alex turned to face him, giving his full attention. "Uh oh... Don't say something emotional. Please."

Mitch smiled a little, reaching up to put both hands on Alex's face. "Listen to me. You are so fucking talented, okay? You're an amazing athlete, and you work so fucking hard, and deserve the world. So go out there, and show everyone how amazing you are, okay? Don't you dare hold back."

Alex nodded quickly, and then grabbed Mitch in a hug. "Thanks, Mitchie... I'll give it all I've got. Promise."

"Don't be nervous, Allie. There's no reason for it. Because you're fucking amazing, and everyone's gonna see that today. Okay?"

Alex nodded, and pulled out of the hug. "Okay. Thank you."

They quickly said goodbye, and then Alex got in the car to drive away. Mitch watched him go, and then almost immediately after, Avi and Scott walked into the garage to leave too.

Scott gave Mitch's ass a quick pat, as he walked around him to kiss him once. "I'll be back in about an hour, okay? Text me if you need anything?"

Mitch nodded once, slowly looking up into his eyes. "Okay."

Scott squinted at him a little, putting a hand on Mitch's back and running it up and down a few times. "Hey, what's wrong? You can come with us if you want, babe."

"No, no, I'm okay, just... I just hope everything goes okay at his try out. He gets so nervous and then he does poorly at things he usually does really well and--"

Scott kissed him again, quickly. "Shh, Mitchie, he's gonna be okay. He's come a long way. And he's undeniably talented. Even if he messes up, I'm sure they'll see that."

Mitch nodded slowly, sighing a little. "Yeah... You're right."

"I know." Scott replied with a wink.

**