Color

Two

When Scott finally woke up for a second time, it was the afternoon of the next day. 

Kevin walked over to stand in front of his friends, sitting in the waiting room chairs. "So.. He's awake now. And the doctor said he can leave, but... We need to make sure he's very careful. And his arm probably still hurts really bad."

Mitch hopped up. "Can I see him, then?"

"Yes. Just to be safe, I just wanna send Avi and Mitch in first, so we don't overwhelm him."

Kirstie nodded, putting a hand on Alex's leg. "We're okay with waiting."

Mitch hurried to find Scott's room again, knocking once before walking in. 

Scott gave him a tired smile. "Mitchie, baby..."

Mitch scampered in then, smiling widely. He bent down a little to kiss Scott's forehead. "Hi, honey, how are you feeling?"

Avi walked up on the other side, tapping on the white cast wrapped around Scott's arm. "Oh how cool. They got you a souvenir."

Scott pouted at him. "Don't touch it, asshole."

"Oh please, I doubt you felt anything."

"Was still really mean. Not nice." He looked over at Mitch. "Can I leave yet?"

"They're gonna put a real cast on your arm, and then yeah. Your final test results came back, and everything else looks good. So... They're gonna let you pick a color, and then I'm gonna draw all over it. Okay?"

Scott nodded slowly. "But I can go home?"

"Absolutely." Mitch looked over to Avi. "Will you go get a doctor? Tell him Scott's ready to put a cast on."

Avi nodded, but then put a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Will you please do it, Mitch? I need to talk to him."

Mitch understood of course. He'd taken his turn making sure Scott was okay, and he knew Avi needed some time too.

He bent down to kiss Scott once, and then he smiled. "I'll be right back, baby. I love you."

Scott nodded, frowning as he walked away. "I love you too..."

Once the door was closed, Avi pulled up a chair to sit in. "Alright so talk to me. Mitch isn't here, so you don't have to worry about hurting his feelings. Be real with me."

Scott didn't look at him, and stared at the blanket over himself instead. "I'm okay... I'm still on lotsa drugs, so my arm doesn't hurt. But the doc warned me that when I leave, I don't get the good stuff and it's probably gonna hurt. And... For that, I don't wanna leave but I really just wanna be home."

"Shit, and Mitch is already packing boxes... But it's gonna be okay, dude. Alex and I are gonna do everything we can to help, and... Even if Alex doesn't want me to move with you guys, I can--"

"What? You have to move in with us. If not for Alex, for me."

"We'll talk about it later, Scott. Don't get all worked up right now. You're still not done telling me how you're feeling."

"Everything else is fine. My arm just feels kinda weird, and... And I kinda feel like I'm gonna pass out, so."

"Pass out? Have you eaten any--?"

Mitch opened the door suddenly. "Avi, I need your help."

Avi stood quickly. "With--?"

"Kirstie. They thought she was fine, and-- And they were wrong."