On My Way Home (Scömìche)

20~ Awakening

An ear piercing cry awakens me from my sleep. I fly into a seated position on my bed and my blankets fall to my waist. At first I think it is only a nightmare but then I hear the scream again. Scott. I jump from my bed and run across my room, swinging open the door. Scott sits up on the couch, his face buried in his palms. His shoulders heave as he lets out a muffled sob. "They're everywhere watching me! They're going to kill me!" Scott screams. I run towards Scott as he continues to scream. I have try my best to calm him. I kneel in front of him and place my palms on his biceps. I gently rub up and down looking into his red, lost, eyes. "Scott, it's okay. No one is coming to get you." I try to whisper in a soothing voice. He continues to tremble. "My men- I tried! I tried to keep them safe," he begins, tears rolling down his cheeks. "But I couldn't! I failed!" He cries. I feel warm tears gather in my eyes. "No- y-you tried your hardest... " I whimper trying to hold back my own tears. He continues to cry, bringing his hands up to his eyes. I rise and wrap my arms around his broad, shaky, shoulders. I hold the back of his neck with my hand and I caress his bare back with the other. He continues to sit motionless except for when he begins to sob. "My f-family, my f-friends, they need me! I need them," he cries into my neck. I lean my head on his shoulder as my vision blurs and tears begin to roll down my cheeks. "I n-need you too! We a-all need you Scott!" I shout to him, trying to bring him back to me. He continues to cry out. "I love them!" He screams. I hold him tighter. "We love you too," I whisper. I continue caressing his back as we cry in harmony. "Mitch..." Scott rasps and wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly. "I'm here, I'm right here..." I whisper. Scott is back.

We continue to cry in our embrace until we are exhausted and our eyes burn. Scott whimpers still and I continue caressing his back. "Do you want to sleep in my bed?" I whisper into his neck. He nods through his tired haze and I release him, rising to my feet. I walk to my bedroom, with Scott on my heels, and grab my pillow as Scott clambers into the sheets on the bedside beside mine. He nuzzles into the pillow and faces my bedside. "You will get better sleep in here then out there. I'll take the couch," I say through a yawn, as I turn to walk out of the bedroom. "Mitch?" Scott whispers. I turn back around and look at Scott through the dark room. "M-hmm?" I moan, unable to utter words. "Ca-Can you stay with me?" He whispers through the darkness. My eyes widen and my heart rate speeds up. I think this sleep deprivation is causing me to lose my mind. "Yes," I say, quietly, walking back towards my bedside. I lay my pillow on my bed and then climb under the sheets. I tuck one arm under my pillow and leave the other above the blankets. I make sure to leave enough space between us. Scott lays facing me and I face him. We are silent for a few moments and then Scott begins to speak. "Paranoia and insomnia; just two prices for maintaining freedom," He whispers. I look at him intently, he has me hooked on every word. "I haven't had a good night's sleep since before I left. Some days I am up before the sun is..." He continues. That explains why I'd find him awake pacing before the crack of dawn, sometimes. "Some nights I don't even dream." He whispers. "But when I do dream, I dream about the memories of a time before I left, dreams of Pentatonix... dreams of you," he rasps. My heart skips a beat and I feel my stomach do a flip. He dreams about me? His moist cheeks glow from the moonlight that comes in through the curtains "But with more and more dreams and memories of what I had, comes more and more thoughts of what I'd lose if..." He stops, his voice cracking. No. A lone tear runs down his cheek from the corner of his eye. "This happens all the time I just don't think it'll ever get better," he rasps. I raise my fingertip and wipe away the tear then I run my fingertip down the stubble on his jaw. "You don't have to go back you know," I whisper, bringing my hand back to my side. "Yes. I know." He says, stopping the conversation then and there. I look into his eyes. The things those eyes have seen. The stories those eyes can share. Those bright eyes that belong to my best friend. I could spend forever just looking into those eyes. Discovering their secrets, solving their mysteries. We are quiet for a few more moments and then I speak. "We should probably get some sleep. It has been a long day," I yawn again. "What a fantastic idea, Mr. Grassi," he winces, playfully. I smile at him in the darkness and scoot closer to him. He watches me intently with a ghost of a smile on his lips. I do not know if I am crossing a set 'friendship boundary' but I tilt my chin and place a light kiss in the middle of his smooth forehead. I feel a spark and I hear Scott's breath hitch. I smile to myself and pretend I didn't hear it. He feels it too. "Indeed it is, Mr. Hoying," I whisper, my lips against his forehead still. Nothing but an innocent peck to the forehead just as my own little test. I scoot back into my place and then roll over, facing the opposite direction. With that I am asleep; pleased with the results of my experiment and the feeling it left me with.

Beep Beep Beep

I open my eyelids just a slit exposing them to the early morning sunlight that creeps into the room through the curtains. I stretch my arm across my bedside table and slap the snooze button, silencing the alarm. It is Six AM. I bring my arm back to my side and look over my shoulder. Scott has one arm under his pillow and the other wrapped around my waist. He is still asleep. I smile at his tranquil expression and then I lie my head back onto my pillow. I snuggle closer against his chest and I pull his arm further over my waist. I never realized how empty the bed was until Scott was here. Even when we were roommates we never shared a bed, but Scott's presence fills that unknown void and I like it. I like him. I nuzzle into the pillow. His body warms me and his bare chest rises and falls against my back lulling me back to sleep.

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A/N: (Just because I think you deserve it) I am posting a spontaneous chapter today! XD It is a follow up to the last chapter and an intro to the next. Please enjoy and feel free to review, comment, or vote. Thank you for Reading :)

P.S. There will still be an update Monday ;)