Black And White

Seven

Mitch was now home, after his ice cream date with Scott.

He'd finished his homework within the hour, so he went to his parents' room to ask if he could leave the house.

His father opened the door to him, smiling widely. "Hello, son! How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thank you. I just wanted to ask you if I could go hang out with a friend, now that I've finished my homework."

"Of course you can. You're old enough to make your own decisions, though I appreciate you asking. Is it Kirstie, by any chance? I enjoy her personality when she comes over."

Oh... Oh. "Yes, father. She and I were just going to go get some coffee and have a calm afternoon together."

"Sure. Go ahead. Though... You aren't allowed to have your car yet. I hope you've organized a ride."

"Yes, I did. She's going to be here to pick me up."

He just nodded, and turned to walk away from the doorway.

Mitch blinked a few times, speaking to himself. "Have a nice day, son. I will, dad. Love you, son. I love you too, dad." He rolled his eyes, and then left.

As he walked out of his house, he grabbed his wallet and his phone.  Mitch was also sure to check his hair in the mirror before he left.

It didn't take him long to walk to Scott's house, luckily. And it was decently scenic, if he's being honest, so he enjoyed it more than he thought he would.

After skipping up the porch steps, Mitch raised his hand to knock on the door, but froze. He should've called first...

Did he seem clingy? He saw Scott like... An hour ago.

Mitch considered turning to run back home, but changed his mind. This was Scott, after all. Mitch had no reason to be afraid of his judgement.

After he'd knocked, he waited a few seconds while staring down at his hands.

Mitch looked up at the door, briefly wondering if Scott wasn't home. But his car was in the driveway...

Scott opened the door then, a towel around his waist. "Mitch? What are you doing here?"

Mitch let his eyes wander down Scott's chest, appreciating his tattoos now that he could see most of them. "Uh... I just missed you, is all... I'm sorry, should I come back later?"

"Don't be silly. Come in, babe." As Mitch did so, Scott closed the door behind him after checking to see where Mitch's car was. "Did you walk here?"

"Yeah... It wasn't bad, actually. Not a long walk or anything... And it's nice out."

Scott turned him by the shoulder, eyes full of concern. "Cutie, if you want to come over just tell me. It's no big deal for me to pick you up. I'd rather do that than have you walking around all by yourself."

"Next time. I promise. I just... I didn't really know what I was doing... I just don't want to be at home anymore."

Scott ran a hand through his wet hair, before glancing toward his living room. "Well... I'll go get dressed, you can hang out in here if you want. T.V. works, and all. I'll be right back, okay?"

Mitch nodded, again letting himself check out all of Scott's tattoos as Scott walked down the hall.

He was truly fascinated by all the ink on Scott's body, since Mitch's parents would never let him do that to himself. But each of Scott's tattoos had a story, and Scott never had a problem explaining them whenever Mitch would ask about it.