Black And White

Seventy Nine

Mitch made sure to text Scott the next morning, to be sure he was still up for going to a (ridiculously) early breakfast before school. 

Scott had immediately texted back saying he'd been awake for twenty minutes already (which is also ridiculous, and means Mitch needs to get his lazy ass out of bed) however, Mitch is a competitive little fucker, so he just responded 'same.'

Then he tossed his phone and jumped out of bed to get ready for the day. 

Scott was already styling his hair the way Mitch always likes. Of course Mitch wouldn't ever say that he liked one hair style better, but Scott was at the point in their relationship that he could tell which compliments were more heartfelt than others. 

He quickly texted Mitch again to say that he was super early, but he could come help Mitch get ready if he wanted. He texted Mitch a second time, less than a minute later, because he heard a noise in the house, and figured it's just because he's practically living alone, so he's getting paranoid. 

Mitch texted back to say he needed like ten more minutes to be ready, but Scott's free to come over if he wants. 

"Scott, are you home?"

Scott's head snapped up quickly in shock, only to see his father peeking into his room. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here." 

"So what? It's not like you're here often." Scott grumbled, searching his room for his backpack so he could get the fuck out of here. 

"Mind you, I'm just here for the day, and then I'm gone tomorrow. Not that you care."

Scott swung his backpack over his shoulder. "Whatever."

"And where the fuck are you going? You can't possibly have school this early."

"Going to see Mitch." Scott mumbled, pushing past him, though he left the door open because he knew his dad was gonna go through his stuff when he left the house. 

"It's too early to fuck, Scott. Why--?"

"I'm going to hang out with him, you presumptuous asshole. Nothing more."

"I bet you wish you were doing more though."

"So what if I do? I'm allowed to be hormonal; I'm eighteen years old. And he's hot as Hell. I don't know what to tell you."

"Here's a question for you and your oh so perfect boyfriend; Does he know you lost your virginity at like 16 or whatever it was? Does it bug him at all?"

"I'm definitely not gonna talk about that with you, you creepy son of a--"

"That's not creepy. I'm concerned about my son."

"Wow, first time I've ever heard those words in my entire life. You must be hungover." Scott threw open the front door and started to leave, but his dad grabbed his arm. 

Rick kept a bruising grip on Scott's arm, knowing full well that Scott was pretty strong. "I'm allowed to be worried about you. Your mom would've wanted--"

Scott ripped his arm away with a scowl. "Don't you fucking talk about her. This has nothing to do with her. You're a shit father, but that's not her fault."

"Am I a shit father or are you a shit son? Do you see how ungrateful you are? I give you money, and a place to live, and--"

"You give me money because I have to raise myself!" Scott shouted at him, turning back around to face him. "Sometimes you're not even home to pay the bills, and I have to do it! And don't even get me started on a place to live because that's bullshit!"

"No it isn't! You slept here last night didn't you?!"

"That's not the point! Do you know how many weeks I had to spend at Avi's house every time you got a new fucking girlfriend?! Or when you'd get so drunk that you'd push me around so bad, Avi had to come save me?!"

"When did you get to be such an entitled, ungrateful--?"

"Must've been sometime when I was raising myself!" He snapped, before turning to actually leave the house. "I'll just stay the night with Avi again, so you can bring home your latest conquest." He muttered.

"No you will not. You'll come home, Scott."

"You have no power over me, you fucking drunkard. Keep my name out of your fucking mouth."

*

Scott decided to just sit in his car instead of going in, trying to give himself time to calm down. 

Apparently it wasn't enough time though, because Mitch got in the car, smiled at him, and then immediately frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't even say anything."

"I know but..." Mitch reached over to poke the center of Scott's forehead, where a few of his 'worry wrinkles' had formed. Then he reached both hands up and used both pointer fingers to touch the corners of Scott's mouth. "Your face is selling you out."

Scott tried to fix it, making his face relax a little, but it was way too late. "No, it's fine. Nothing is wrong."

Mitch put his seat belt on and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? You wanna try lying to me?"

"I'm not... Okay, maybe I'm lying a little. But it's early, and I don't wanna talk about it. Okay?"

"Will you just... Give me a hint? So I know which jokes to avoid?"

Scott concentrated on his driving for a few seconds, and then took a deep breath. "Dad came home... And we argued. That's all."

"Oh... I'm sorry, babe... How long is he staying?"

"Just for today. I'll probably just stay the night at Avi's or something..."

"I can ask my parents if you can stay over with me, if you want?"

"No, no. It's okay. Thanks though, baby."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Honestly... All I really want is a big stack of pancakes, maybe some bacon, and... Maybe about 600 kisses from you."

"I'm okay with that. But be careful you don't make yourself sick. Don't eat too much, you always complain about how bloated you feel afterward."

"Yeah, maybe... But you always make me feel better about how fat I look, so."

"Scott Richard, you have never looked fat a day in your life."

"Maybe you're just too nice."

"I'm definitely not. You're slim, and fit, and... You have these delicious arms, and great legs, and your shoulders are superb, non to mention how muscly your torso is, especially your adorable tummy, and--"

"I think... You're gonna make me throw up."

"You're not used to being complimented? I will sure as Hell change that for you."

"Mitchie..." You're being too sweet and I can't handle it. "You're... You're sweet, and... I mean, thank you for trying to make me feel better."

"You're welcome. I'll make it my mission to compliment you every single time I see you."

"You don't have to--"

"Yes I do."

"No, but... Mitch."

"Not taking no for an answer. In fact... I'll let you pay for breakfast today, and I won't fuss about it at all."

**