Bent.

17. With you and Me... Bent

Author's Note: See? Yesterday wasn't so bad... right?!

17. With you and Me... Bent

Scott reached for him, but Mitch flinched away, panicking. The concern in Scott's eyes was enough to drive Mitch crazy.

He didn't deserve that look. He knew that.

"Tell me what? Who?"

Mitch felt his eyes filling with tears, and he blinked frantically. "I'm so sorry."

He could see Scott's heart breaking on his face. His eyes were growing cold as he stared at him. The wall was being put up.

The wall that his Scott was so good at building. He shook the thought from his mind, and growled at the intrusion of the thought of his Scott again.

It was clear that Scott was misunderstanding, that he thought there was someone else.

Maybe he should let him think that.

"Let me tell the story without interrupting, please? At least?" Mitch cried, looking to Kirstin and Kevin with desperation. They nodded, and Mitch turned towards his favorite eyes again.

"I was in love with someone... before I met you."

Scott looked at him with a soft gaze. "Everyone has a past, Mitch-"

"Please. Let me finish?" Scott shut his mouth. "His name was Scott." Mitch took a step closer, dropping his cup on the grass and grabbing Scott's hands. "And he was... insecure. Angry. Mean."

Scott looked like he wanted to fight the man being described to him.

"And he was everything to me."

He watched Scott's heart break again, and wished he could run into the woods behind them.

"And he needed me. He needed me so damn badly..."

Scott nodded, clearly becoming uncomfortable.

"And then... he was gone."

"I don't understand." Scott glanced around at Kirstin and Kevin, who looked on with sympathy.

"The airpods were mine," Mitch croaked, tears spilling from his eyes. Scott gripped his hands tighter, rubbing his knuckles. "And that wasn't my bus stop."

He knew that his speech was disorganized. He knew that he made no sense.

"I'm glad that something made you want to follow me," Scott offered, softly.

"I was chasing him."

The confusion was back on his perfect face.

"He was a hallucination. He was a hallucination in your form."

"W-what?"

"I must have seen you on that bus before. I was... checked into Austin Psychiatric Hospital. I thought he was my roommate. He was a coping mechanism, a hallucination-"

"And I'm... not him." Scott said, realization taking over his features. Tears welled in his eyes as he dropped Mitch's hands. "Just like you said when you were hallucinating..." Scott clenched his eyes shut. "So you were, what? Using me? Did you ever even... did you ever even like me?"

Kevin stepped forward, and Scott held up a hand. "How long have you known?"

"Mitch and I met in the hospital."

Scott let out a whimper, running his hands through his hair. He looked like he might be losing his mind.

"I met his version of you. Or... Mitch thought I did." Kevin's voice broke with the confession, like he knew he was digging his own grave.