Incurable

Forty Eight

As soon as they'd gotten to the bathroom, Alex looked through the stalls to be sure no one else was in there, before he leaned onto the sink and gripped the counter tightly.

Scott watched him do so and tilted his head a little. "Okay?"

Alex didn't respond, but took a deep breath. Scott only walked a little closer, when Alex's exhale came out a little shaky.

Scott put a hand on his shoulder. "Okay?"

Alex let his head fall to hang between his shoulders. "He's in love with me, Scott. Jake, is... He's in love with me."

Scott smiled at him, about to give him some kind of thumbs up until he realized Alex wasn't very happy about it. Scott reached forward to tap Alex's cheek, where his smile should've been.

Alex turned to him. "I know I should be excited about it or something, but... He's my best friend. And I'm truly not sure if I think of him that way. And... He kissed me, but... I don't know."

Scott covered his mouth with one hand, and then pointed to the door a few times in an urgent way.

Alex shook his head though. "You can't go get Mitch, if that's what you're saying. You can't tell anyone. Not a single person. Okay?"

Scott just nodded, making an X over his heart with his pointer finger.

"Thank you." He met Scott's eyes and shook his head slowly. "Man... What I wouldn't give to have a relationship as cute as yours."

Scott smiled a little, nodding. He figures, everyone deserves their own Mitch.

Alex looked back at himself in the mirror. "What if..? What if I think I might love him back? I just didn't want to ruin our friendship..."

Scott spoke quietly, taking a step closer as he rubbed Alex's back. "Not sympathy?"

"No, no... I'm not saying it because I feel bad. I just... I really don't know. I feel like I might... Y'know? I might have feelings for him..."

Scott smiled at him again. "Carpe diem."

Alex hesitated, meeting Scott's eyes in the mirror. "Something about a fish?"

"Carpe. Not carp."

"'Seize the day.' I forgot about that little slogan...You couldn't just say that in English?"

Scott shrugged, a little proud of himself for remembering that small bit of Latin.

Alex turned on the sink and splashed a little bit of water on himself. When he turned to grab a paper towel, Scott was holding one out for him already.

*******

As the pair exited the bathroom, Alex looked up at their dinner table and frowned. "Uh oh..."

Not only was the boy that was sent to Isolation back sitting beside Mitch, but Jake as well.

Scott looked up too, and he whimpered quietly without realizing what he was doing.

It didn't take them long to walk over to the table, Alex immediately tapping Jake's shoulder.

Jake jumped up from the seat, startling Alex into falling back on Scott a little. Jake just gestured to the seat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to take your spot."

Alex shook his head once, meeting Scott's eyes, before turning back around. "Jake, I... I need to talk to you again. I'm sorry... I just needed a minute to process."

"Of course." Jake slid his hand along Alex's back, putting himself under Alex's other arm to help him walk, when Scott moved away.

Scott took Jake's old seat, beside the kid from Isolation.

Kirstie reached across the table to grab Scott's hand. "Hi. Is everything okay?"

Scott just looked over to the person in the seat beside Mitch, where Scott should've been.

Kirstie nodded, giving him a sad smile. "He just came by to apologize..."

Just as Scott turned to the person again to talk to him, he stood up with a huff and practically stomped away.

Mitch rolled his eyes at him, but smiled widely when he saw Scott. "Oh, hi! You did come back! I was worried about you."

Scott looked down at his lap.

"Don't get upset, please. I tried to get him to go away, I swear." Mitch scooted over to sit beside Scott, grabbing his hand with both of his own. "Smile, please."

Scott glanced over at him, eyes searching Mitch's face to better understand.

"Scotney, will you do me a favor?"

Kirstie leaned over to Avi. "What's Scotney?"

"A castle, I think. European thing. Though... I don't think that was what Mitch was getting at."

Scott nodded a few times, leaning a little closer to Mitch to hear him.

"Will you say my name?"

"Mitch."

"In a sentence?"

"I love you, Mitch."

Mitch grinned widely, leaning forward to kiss him once, twice, and then the third time he held it for a moment before pulling away. "Your voice is beautiful."

Scott just smiled at him in his best appreciative way.

"And I love you too, by the way." Mitch stood up, reaching a hand out for Scott. "Will you come cuddle with me? Please?"

Scott stood, taking his hand, but then he faced their trays on the table.

Avi waved him off. "I'll take your trays for you. Go on."

Scott nodded once, leaning forward toward him to be sure no one else heard him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Scott gave Mitch's hand a squeeze, and then followed him out of the dining hall.

Mitch smiled as they walked. "You have nice legs!"

Scott blushed a little, looking down at his toes.

Mitch stopped walking when he saw Alex and Jake, Alex's back against the wall of the dormitory building. Scott stopped as well, scanning Mitch's body once to see if he was hurt.

Alex hadn't seen them yet, but he put a hand on Jake's chest when Jake began trailing a line of kisses down his neck. "Wait. Wait, please."

"What, are you kidding? You just dropped me into the deep end of 'friend zone' and then grabbed me under the arms to yank me out. I'm not waiting anymore."

Alex was powerless to his advances then, but he shook his head slowly. "Wow... Carpe diem."

Jake pulled away to kiss him on the lips this time. "That's right. And don't you forget it."

Alex stopped him again when he tried to sneak a hand under Alex's shirt. "Jake... Don't you feel like you're rushing this?"

"No. Do you?"

"Yes." Alex pushed him away again. "Yes, I do. Let's just... Sleep on it. Okay? I haven't said anything for certain yet. I just said maybe."

"It's good enough for me. But I'll respect your request."

"Thank you. Will you help me walk back into the cafeteria, please?"

"Of course."

****