ANIMALS [Mitch Grassi fanfiction]

3

 "I see nothing threatening in this, angel!" Beau wrinkled his forehead as he read the letter once again. "Please don't be upset, I think he is just trying to be nice."
"I swear, Beau, he grabbed me! It wasn't nice at all!" Mitch was sobbing. They were sitting on the floor of his bedroom, that's where Beau has found him after getting out of the shower.
"Maybe he tried to make sure that you are going to read it." Beau bit his under lip and let the letter fall onto the ground. He pulled Mitch closer, wrapping him into a strong hug. "Please don't cry, nothing's wrong!"

Mitch was devastated. Beau didn't believe him. He tried his best to tell the whole story but in Beau's opinion it must have been nothing. Mitch was terrified. The guy told him that he was going to play harder and make sure that he notices him – now he did so. Mitch still felt his aggressive hold on his wrist.

"You know what? Let's take a walk," Beau proposed and with that he helped Mitch up. "Fresh air will help you, I'm sure."
Mitch couldn't decide if he should scream or laugh at that. Some fresh air didn't solve his problem. He said nothing though, knowing that Beau already formed his opinion. He nodded and walked down the stairs to get their coats.

The air was chilly. It was 8 p.m., already dark outside. Beau was holding his hand steadily and talked about his work, only to calm Mitch a little bit. It was a harmless, average topic. Only a few cars were passing by, they've met no pedestrians on their short way.

In about fifteen minutes they were close to Mitch's house again. Someone was standing on the other side of the road, staring right at Mitch. There was a hoodie on his head, covering his face in shadow under the street lamp. Mitch's relaxed mood left as soon as it came and he gripped Beau's forearm. The boy followed his stare, perplexed. "What's wrong, honey?" As soon as he looked, the figure turned on his heels and walked away.

What could Mitch say? That it was him? He didn't even see his features in the darkness. He pressed his lips together, refusing to say a single word and Beau sighed. "Look, you have a great security system. Nothing's wrong but even if it would be, you're not in danger, okay?"
"Are you sure you have to leave?" Mitch asked instead.
Beau opened the door for them and led Mitch inside before answering. "I already have my plane ticket for tonight and my cab is going to be here in half an hour. Yes, baby, I do have to leave. But nothing's going to happen, I promise."

Mitch felt like a baby for begging Beau not to go but there was no use. His boyfriend gave him a last kiss after thirty minutes of cuddles and he was out of the house.

Mitch went upstairs, inside his room and buried himself under the blankets. He felt miserable. Maybe he was foolish for freaking out but he couldn't help it. After a short debate he decided to read the letters again. Maybe that way he'll see why Beau thought they were harmless.

But then he slowly noticed something. Some letters, words were thicker than the others and as he read them together, they actually made sense.

'Baby I'm preying on you tonight
Hunt you down, eat you alive
Just like animals

Maybe you think that you can hide
I can smell your scent from miles
Just like animals'

This was the first one, a lyrics by Maroon5.

'Every breath you take and move you make
Bond you break, step you take, I'll be watching you
Every single day and word you say
Game you play, night you stay, I'll be watching you'

They both needed some correction but the second one was a Police lyrics. Mitch took the third letter and copied the URL he got. When One Way Or Another appeared on the screen from Blondie, he lost it. He started crying again.

Now he didn't even have Beau to show him.

***

The night passed slowly. Mitch barely caught some sleep and he felt ridiculous. What if the others were right and he was freaking out for no reason? But again, those letters were freaky. Even if this guy didn't want to do anything real, maybe just scaring him, it was something. Did the others ever get these type of messages? What if they all did but didn't care? What if Mitch was the only one not being able to handle it?

He tried to have as much company as possible until San Francisco. He didn't say anything though, he decided to keep all his worries inside and try to forget them. No one believed him anyway.

He felt relieved for leaving his house. Maybe this guy will show up on their concert but at least he won't be alone there. Not like here, in his house. His home didn't feel safe anymore. There was something is his gut telling him out get out.

San Francisco wasn't too far away from Los Angeles. They went with the tour bus. Mark and Ben joined them as usually. Mitch sat in the corner, acting like he was buzzy with his phone but in reality he was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, sometimes tapping twice to send a heart. The others were in a conversation and seemingly didn't even care if Mitch joined them or not.

The ride was seven hours and just as Mitch thought, nobody cared about him being quiet. After a while he just escaped from their company and headed to his bunk to be alone. He took his headphones and started to watch a movie to pass the time. He felt so isolated.

When they arrived to the hotel and got their keys, it was already 8 p.m. Mitch was having a room on his own again. He was in such a bad mood that he didn't even bother ordering something for dinner. After a shower he went straight to bed.

In the morning three missed calls and a message were waiting for him, all from Beau.

'Are you okay, babe? :('

Shit, he forgot to tell him that they've arrived. He texted him back immediately since it was too early for a phone call. However, Beau was already awake – or Mitch woke him with the message – but he got a reply immediately so Mitch decided to call him anyway.

"I'm so sorry, I fell asleep early yesterday," he apologized as soon as he heard his boyfriend's voice through the phone.
"Don't be silly, I'm not mad at you. I was just worried. Did something happen?" Beau asked, his voice much softer than Mitch expected. He missed him so much.
"Nothing really, I just- I don't know, I was in a bad mood," Mitch shrugged. He sat back on the bed and picked the corner of the blanket, tears pooling his eyes. He felt lonely. The others were probably eating together but Mitch didn't show up in time and they didn't question it.
"Aw, baby... Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really." Mitch didn't even know what to say. It was him who was being ridiculous and avoiding the band and these days were stressing him out for no reason. He didn't really sleep when he was at home but he didn't know what to say so at least someone would understand him. So he didn't even tell Beau a word.

He knew that he should eat something before soundcheck but he decided to skip breakfast and only go with some water and a coffee. Thankfully everything went well and he was hungry enough to join the others for lunch. It was fun, the others were excited for the show and Scott was making jokes all the time. For that time everything felt normal. They've left the restaurant filled with positive energies.

They had some free time before getting ready for the show and Mitch spent it in his room facetiming Beau and trying to relax. He was in the hall exactly when he needed to and they've left in time. After his makeup was done and he stared into the mirror, that was the time he realized that the VIP and this whole nightmare was about to start again.
"Don't bite your lips, the lip gloss won't stay there," their new makeup artist warned him after he got off the chair. Mitch nodded and took a deep breath instead. He needed to look presentable for the others.

They lined up for the VIP and Mitch peeked out to see their fans standing there. The room was vibrant from excitement. There were mostly girls and for his surprise, he saw no one looking suspicious.

Was it possible that the guy ended up not coming? According to his letter, he has bought a ticket for the show but probably not the VIP then. Mitch relaxed a little and followed the others into the room again.