Color

Hundred One

Scott hated seeing Mitch so upset.

He frowned as he lightly rinsed off the dishes in the sink.

Avi set more dishes in the sink to annoy him, but frowned at the look on Scott's face. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just... Hate what's going on between Kirstie and Mitch."

"Oh, did something happen?"

Scott just shook his head. "Not really... But the vibe between them is all fucked up because of... Y'know."

Avi leaned his back against the counter, glancing around the kitchen before speaking. "I know.. I'm sure they'll get past it. I felt kinda the same way when you and Mitch got together. But I knew you'd come back to me so I wasn't too upset."

Scott looked down at what he was doing. "I don't know if that was supposed to make me feel better... But it's not about us."

Avi took a second to process that, nodding slowly. "No, I know. I just meant... Everyone goes through the phase. We all get past it."

Scott was now scrubbing one of the plates a little too hard. "Were you really that pissed at me? Like as pissed as Mitch is with Kirstie?"

"Honestly, no. But I'm not as emotionally invested as they are, I guess." Avi glanced down at the sink. "Need some help?"

"No. Do you wanna go check on Kirstie, or should I?"

"You should do it. I'll take over in here, if you want."

Scott shrugged. "Okay, fine. Whatever you want."

Avi smacked him in the shoulder once as he stepped in to stand in front of the sink. "Come back when you're done though."

*

Scott now stood in front of Kirstie's room, knocking twice. "Hey.. Kit?"

"Scottie? That you?" She paused. "Come in!"

Scott walked in slowly, giving her a friendly smile. "Sorry to bug you... I know you wanted to be alone, I just... I just wanted to check on you."

"Oh, I'm great! Nice of you to check." She was sitting against the headboard of her bed, her laptop a foot in front of her playing a movie.

Scott walked over to sit on the other side of the bed, glancing at the movie on her screen. "Jasmine is hot. Not sorry."

She scoffed. "Aren't you like gay or something?" Kirstie giggled after she said it, and then leaned back against the pillows. "She's pretty cute though, not gonna lie."

Scott just grinned. "Yeah, gay or something. Doesn't mean I don't know when someone's hot."

Kirstie pat the pillow next to her. "Wanna hang out for a little?"

Scott leaned over to lay across the pillows, leaning his head on Kirstie's shoulder. "So tell me about your date. I feel like you never talk about Kyle when you're home."

"I just... Don't really think anyone wanted to hear about it. Mitch gets kinda snippy."

Scott hummed softly. "Sorry... He just misses you is all."

"I know." Kirstie responded. "Let's just not talk about it. Jasmine is about to sing."

Scott grinned widely at that. 

"Wait, so you're bi now? I thought you didn't like labels."

"I don't like labels. I'm not anything, I'm just me, dude."

"But you like men and women?"

"I like hot people with hot personalities. What do you want from me?"

"Oh, so me." She giggled again and grinned. 

"Oh yeah for sure." 

Kirstie smiled, running one of her hands through his hair. "You remind me of Kyle sometimes. I just hope he and I work out..."

"I'm sure you will, honey. Just... Do me a favor and don't forget your value? Like... I'm not one to judge if your relationship gets intimate and physical and whatever, I just don't want you to forget about all the other parts of your life. Y'know?"

She continued to run her hand through his hair. "I know. I'm just kind of rolling with it."

"And that's fine, again I'm totally not here to tell you what to do." He took a deep breath, and then sighed. "I just want you to know how much value you have... Don't want you to forget."

She just frowned. "Sweet of you to say that.. Thank you."

"And if you ever need any advice, or... Or need someone to kick his ass, I'm your guy."

Kirstie giggled. "Yes, I know... Why is it that every time I call you sweet or kind, you go and say something like that?"

"Must be my real personality shining through."

*

Mitch was about to go to bed when he finally came looking for Scott. Face washed and glasses on, he started knocking on bedroom doors.

He knocked on Kirstie's door once, peeking his head in. 

Scott's head was resting in Kirstie's lap, and he appeared to be asleep already. 

Kirstie looked up at Mitch now standing in the doorway. "Oh hey."

"Was looking for Scott." Was all Mitch said. 

Kirstie ran her hand through Scott's hair to wake him. "Hey, Scottie, Mitch is here for you."

Scott hummed, and opened his eyes slowly. He sat up a little to look at Mitch. "Oh, sorry... Fell asleep watching Aladdin."

Mitch couldn't help but smile a little. "Aw, you love that movie." 

Scott moved to get off the bed, stretching his arms out a little before walking over to Mitch. "Sorry.. You goin' to bed?"

"Yeah. You coming with me?" Mitch asked, reaching out to grab Scott's shirt to pull him closer. 

Scott nodded and leaned down to kiss him once. 

**