Color

Hundred Thirty Two

The game finally ended, when Kirstie started to feel sick. 

Mitch moved the group inside, telling them to sit on the couch and watch a movie while he put the fire out.

When he finally came back inside, making sure to check the front and back doors to be sure they were locked, the group seemed to finally be tired out. 

Mitch took a seat on the couch between Scott and Avi, thinking they were being quiet because they were exhausted. 

But he noticed that the television wasn't even on yet, and he turned his head to see Kirstie in tears. 

She and Alex were sharing the other seat in the room, and he was the first that Mitch heard speak. "Sweetheart... You know you can always talk to us. About literally anything."

Kirstie wiped tears from her eyes, careful of the copious amounts of eye make up she was still wearing. "Sorry, I'm just at the super emotional stage of this drunkness."

Alex just frowned at her. "Don't apologize for that.. It's okay."

Avi spoke too, sitting in the seat on the couch that was closest to the other two. "Honestly you deserve better than that, Kirstie. Are you kidding me? You're such a fucking package, and for you to be tolerating that shit is stupid."

Kirstie looked up at him, tears still falling quietly down her face. "You really think so? I mean... I really, really like him. Just... It feels like he was better when we were spending less time together."

Scott hummed in thought, speaking from across them. "Yeah, that's usually when you find out who people really are, Kit. Maybe he's just not good enough for you."

Mitch hated the silence that followed that, and he finally mumbled. "When did you guys sober up so much?"

Avi leaned back, and Mitch could finally see his face, as Avi wiped tears off of his own face. "I think we cried it all out."

Mitch suddenly set a hand on Scott's thigh. "No way! I missed the group cry? That's my favorite part!"

Avi turned to look at him. "You guys have group crying sessions? Like, often?"

Mitch scoffed at him. "All the time, dude. You and Scott basically go into battle together, fighting stupid people at school. This is what the rest of us do to cope."

Avi turned to look at Alex. "You guys do this all the time?"

Alex just shrugged, running his hand up and down Kirstie's back. "Yeah. Kevin, Kirst, Mitchie and I used to get wine drunk and then sit in a circle and talk about how shitty our lives were. Mitchie used to call it the Tea Party."

Kirstie giggled at the memory, still gently pushing the tears from her face. "Oh yeah, because we were spilling tons of tea. Sometimes Kevin would write sad poetry and bring it to read. Like a group therapy thing."

Mitch suddenly pushed Avi's knee, meeting his eyes. "I wanna hear your tea party. I feel like I don't know anything about your past, and we've literally been living together for months."

Avi met Scott's eyes quickly, from behind Mitch. "Oh. That's not really something I like to share, Mitch."

Kirstie just shook her head. "That's not how it works, everybody has to share. Can't just pick him out, Mitchie."

Scott spoke softly, mostly for Avi to hear. "Might help to say it all out loud, Av. You've held it all inside for so fuckin' long, man."

Avi reacted to that defensively, feeling like they were ganging up on him. "What exactly am I supposed to share, Hoying? Everybody here knows that my dad fuckin' died. What do you want from me?"

Mitch frowned at him, because that reaction was very similar to the reaction he used to get from Scott when he wanted to talk. He placed a hand on Avi's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay if you don't wanna. I just wanted to know more about you. It's okay."

Avi immediately pushed his hand away. "Just. Maybe another time. Are you guys crazy? Do you have any idea what time it is? And you wanna delve into everyone's life stories?"

Mitch glanced at his phone briefly, to see that it was a little past four in the morning. "Yeah, well... Everyone said they weren't busy tomorrow."

Scott weighed in too, always wanting to support Mitch's ideas. "I'm still pretty awake actually. I'd stay up, if you wanted to talk about it."

Kirstie nodded quickly. "Same. I can grab us some blankets! It'll be fun, like a sad slumber party." She jumped up from her seat to do so, without waiting for an answer. 

Alex slid forward in his seat, to reach across the space, and place his hand on Avi's knee. "It's okay if you don't want to, babe. You know you can trust us with anything, right?"

"But why do you even want to know? I don't ask for personal details about the rest of you."

"No, I know. And again, you don't have to. We just... When we had Tea Parties it was just easier to share our hardships in the safety of our little family. And it forms deep connections, because people understand what you're going through."

"But why share them at all?"

Alex gave him a sympathetic smile. "It helps us heal, baby. The truth really does set you free, I promise."

Avi placed his hand on top of Alex's. "Will you share yours too..?"

"Sure. Everyone can take their turn, if they want to. You really don't have to."

Avi just shook his head. Had he really not told anybody about how he felt after his dad--? No he supposes, he wouldn't have done that. He didn't really talk about it with Scott either, Scott was just... There.

Avi sighed. "Alright fine."

Alex stood up briefly, to lean over and kiss the top of Avi's head. "Welcome to the Tea Party, babe."

**