Color

Fifty Eight

Avi suddenly slammed the bedroom door shut behind him, eyeing Alex on the bed.

Scott glanced over at him. "Long day at work, honey?"

Avi glared at him immediately. "You smell like smoke. The fuck is wrong with you?"

"I wasn't doing it. Kyle is outside smoking."

"Fine. Doesn't matter right now. Alexander, how are you?"

Alex just shrugged, his head still on Mitch's leg. "I'm okay. I can't really be mad at him, so... I'm just upset."

"I see. So... Want me to kick him out?"

"No. It's okay... He couldn't possibly have known..."

"But it was still a dumb fucking thing to say. What kind of asshole suggests that someone's coach is hot?"

"It's a fairly normal thing to say, Avi... I get that you're defending me, but it's not really his fault."

Scott suddenly leaned over to kiss Mitch's cheek, before standing up from the bed. "I'm gonna go talk to him again. Avi, stay here and cool down, alright? Mitchie, if you get a second you should go talk to Kirstie."

Mitch grabbed Scott's arm quickly. "Wait, are you..? Maybe I should be the one to go outside. I don't want you to feel pressured."

"Absolutely not. I don't trust that guy."

"Let me go with you then. We can do it one at a time, Kyle and then Kirstie after. That way we can give Alex and Avi some time."

Scott nodded slowly, holding a hand out toward Mitch. "Come on then, my love."

Alex moved from Mitch's leg so he could go. Mitch moved over a little to get closer to Scott, but grabbed Alex's chin gently. "Let me know if you need anything, babe. I know you think it's your fault for getting offended, and that it's not his bad for being unaware. But... It's okay to have feelings, alright? It's not anyone's fault."

Alex nodded slowly. "I understand... Thanks, Mitchie."

Mitch just smiled at him, before moving toward Scott and taking his hand.

Scott slid his arm around Mitch's back, before gently pushing him toward the door.

Avi waited for them to go, and then he walked over and sat down beside Alex. "How're you feeling, baby?" He held up a hand. "And actually, while we're on the topic... Hearing Mitch call you 'babe' just now sent a chill up my spine for some reason."

Alex pouted at him, sitting up so he could sit beside Avi rather than laying next to him. "I'll... We can talk about that later. Please just... Tell me what to do. I know it isn't Kyle's fault, and Kirstie... Defended him because she likes him..."

"No, Kirstie's being a dick. Telling him that you're just easily offended and that he didn't do anything wrong, is fucking bullshit. And I also know it's not Kyle's fault, but I'm still pissed at him."

"You can't be mad at him for being ignorant, Avi... I know you're trying to defend me, which is sweet and romantic of you, but... It's not fair to him."

"Let's not forget the thing that happened with you, Mitch and whatever Kyle's friend's name was. That was some homophobic bullshit. There's a lot of reasons not to like him."

"But that wasn't really his fault either."

Avi rolled his eyes. "Stop being a good person. Just let me be pissed at him."

"But that's not fair, Avi. He hasn't done anything to--"

"He nearly made you cry today. So why are you sticking up for him?"

"It was my own fault, Avi. He couldn't have possibly known. I don't get why that's so hard for you to understand."

*

Mitch held Scott's hand as they stood outside talking to Kyle.

Mitch couldn't help but stare at the cigarette in Kyle's hand, as he hardly listened to Scott at all.

Kyle nodded slowly though, as he'd been listening attentively. "Ohh... Shit, I had no idea. I'm really sorry about that. Is he..? Like is he in a good enough state for me to talk to him about it..?"

"Not right now. He knows it wasn't your fault, I mean how could you have known..? But he's just kinda sensitive right now, and honestly Avi might try to fight you so."

"God... Man, I'm so sorry. I feel awful about it."

"No, it's... It's okay. And I didn't tell Alex that I was gonna tell you all of this, so maybe don't mention it? I didn't tell you most of the details for a reason, I just... Wanted you to be aware so you can avoid talking about it next time."

"No, I completely understand. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I just... I just wish Kirstie would have said something. I wish I'd have known."

Mitch suddenly spoke up loudly, pointing at the cigarette. "Would you please put that out? Sorry, I just.. Hate the smell of it."

Kyle immediately went to do so, dropping it onto the floor to step out. "Sorry about that. It's a bad habit, I know. Tryin' to kick it."

Scott nodded slowly. "I know just how you feel, man."

Kyle froze, meeting his eyes. "Aw, shit and then I went and offered you one... God, I'm doing a shit job today aren't I?"

Mitch gave him a small smile. "It's okay. You couldn't have possibly known about that either."

*

Scott now sat beside Kirstie on the couch. "Will you explain it again..? I don't really understand why..."

"I just... I didn't want to bring attention to it, and make Alex uncomfortable."

Scott looked up at Mitch, who was waiting for his chance to speak up. "Mitchie? I have like... Nothing left to argue about. So... You wanna take this one?"

Mitch pouted, briefly ignoring Scott's offer for Mitch to sit on his lap, and walking over to sit on the other side of Kirstie. "Listen... I don't really want to talk about it anymore either. But I need you to be more honest with me. And I need you to tell me when he's coming over, okay? You can't just bring him here when you want to."

"That's fine. I understand. And I know I need to talk to Alex, and I will, I promise. I'll apologize."

Scott stood up quickly, reaching a hand out for Kirstie. "Good, I'm glad this is over. Let's hug this out and move on with our lives."

Kirstie jumped up to hug him. "Sounds good to me."

**