Push.

11. I'm a Little Untrusting when I think that the Truth is Gonna Hurt You

"So the guy stands up, takes his drink, and pours it over the other guy's head. Then he goes, 'My COUSIN? He isn't even hot!'"

Mitch watched as the group threw their heads back and laughed at Scott's words. Their joy was genuine, and Mitch marveled at how Scott could captivate a room.

"So I'm pissed, because I have to clean it all up. So I grab a towel from the back and when I turn around, the cheater is staring at me. So I go, 'What?' and he takes out his phone and holds it out to me. I think he's asking for my number, so I get ready to make some sort of excuse, but then I see that it's opened to a picture, and he goes, 'He's not that ugly though, right?'"

"He wanted you to tell him the cousin was hot enough to cheat on the guy with? Get out," Kevin asked in disbelief. Chet cackled. "What did you say?"

"I was like, 'Do you, man. There's an ass for every chair.'" Scott held up his hands in defeat, and the group roared with laughter again.

Now, Rozzi was telling a story, and Mitch couldn't help but to become emotional as he looked around at his friends. He felt lucky.

As the night wore on, Mitch found himself curling up on the couch, slowly decreasing his distance to Scott until his head was resting on his shoulder, when the taller man froze.

Rozzi shot him a look, and he grabbed Mitch's hand.

"C'mere," the blond muttered, and suddenly, Mitch's carefree attitude was gone.

Had he crossed a line already?

"Uh oh. I'm in trouble," Mitch teased as his bedroom door closed and Scott turned to face him.

"Of course not, I just need to tell you something."

Scott's tone was rigid, and Mitch was overcome with a desire to run.

Scott sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him, in a way that was terribly familiar. Mitch complied, taking a deep breath.

"I need to tell you something, not because I'm assuming things, not because I'm uncomfortable around you, not because-."

"Just spill," Mitch snapped, then cringed at the sound of his own tone. "Sorry. Just say it, Scott."

"I'm seeing someone."

Mitch looked up into those blue eyes, just to see if he had heard the sound of Mitch's heart hitting the floor and shattering into a million pieces.

The blue eyes flickered, and Mitch assumed that he had indeed heard it.

"Oh." He shifted, increasing his distance from the taller man. He could feel his cold demeanor trying to escape, he could feel the biting words on the tip of his tongue-

"So much for waiting for me."

Silence.

"You're one to talk."

Scott's words were soft but hollow. Piercing.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Scott took a deep breath, reeling himself in. "You have every right to kiss anyone you'd like, Mitch. It isn't my business. But I saw you do it."

Mitch couldn't believe his ears.

"You...?"

Scott nodded. "I saw you out the window of the hospital, on the lawn, with that guy. You moved on... so now I'm trying to."

Mitch surprised himself with his own laughter. Apparently, it took Scott by surprise, too.

"It's... funny?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Okay, then," Scott replied, coldly.

"He found one last way to ruin it. To ruin my chances."

"What does that mean?"

"Scott told me to."

"Told you to what?"

"To try to kiss him. He told me that you were probably off somewhere moving on. And that I should, too. So I kissed the guy once, Fake Scott got all sad, and it never happened again."

Scott nodded. "So you stopped... for Fake Scott."

Mitch thought about backtracking, but then his eyes narrowed. If Scott wanted to throw low blows like moving on with a random man, Mitch could throw some back.

"Yeah. I stopped for my Scott. I'm happy for you, though. What's his name?" Mitch asked, throwing in "my" just to twist the knife.

Scott looked at him in disbelief. "Oh. Um... that's good, then."

"Scott, the name?"

"It's Noah."