Black And White

Ninety One

Mitch was able to catch him, grabbing his wrist. "Scott, will you please stop? Just look at me."

Scott ripped his arm away, so aggressively Mitch thought it would hurt. Scott turned halfway. "Let me just run this fucking mess by you, so you understand the fucking disaster you just fucking caused."

"Stop cursing."

Scott shook his head slowly. "Don't even. Do not even go there right now. You texted me because you needed help. Because someone was trying to hurt you. So I got my ass down here within 30 fucking seconds, and I was scared you were injured or beat up or something. And then when I throw that fucking door open to help you, you yell at me like it's my fault?"

"No, you don't understand--"

"And then you tell me that you led him on? Are you fucking-- Are you fucking joking, Mitchell? You're unbelievable."

"I didn't! I just... I tried to tell him no, I swear to you that I did. But I knew you'd get there in time, and I didn't want to make him angry because I was worried he'd try to hurt me or something. So I just went along with it, not that he got very far, because I knew you'd be there. I swear."

Scott stared at him for too long, and it made Mitch nervous that Scott wouldn't believe him. "I'm gonna be honest with you... I'm too angry to think about this right now. And... I don't want to shout at you anymore; I don't want to argue. So... I'm just gonna go back to class. Okay?"

Mitch frowned, reaching out for his hand again, though Scott pulled his arm away. "Scottie, please... Don't go to class as angry as you are. Please... I won't be able to focus knowing you're mad."

"I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do about that. I.. I need to go." Scott turned again. 

Mitch practically collapsed, hating the hole that was suddenly forming in his heart. "Scott, don't go. Please... I'd rather stay here and argue. I.. I don't want you to be angry." He frowned deeply, feeling the lump in the back of his throat. "I think I'm gonna cry."

*

Not ten minutes later, and Scott was holding Mitch in a tight hug, still just standing in the hallway of the school. "Mitchie, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have ever yelled at you. You didn't deserve that."

"It was just a big misunderstanding. That's all."

"And I overreacted."

"You reacted exactly how I'd hoped you would. And... I hope you'll always react like that if someone's hurting me."

Scott held him tighter for a second before letting him go, a very distinct trait of his. "Oh believe me... I will. Just... Next time, could you text me before you decide to 'lead him on'?"

"Sure. I'm sorry for doing that... I was just scared, and... I was afraid he'd try to hurt me if I pulled out my phone any sooner."

Scott slid his hands down the backs of Mitch's arms to hold both of his hands, pausing during that moment to think, and then he should his head. "You know what? I think... I'm going about this the wrong way... Uh... I'm sure you were scared, and... And I'm sorry for expecting you to... To call me or something. That's not fair of me. You did what you thought you needed to do to protect yourself, and.. That's what's important. I'm glad you weren't hurt at all."

Mitch stared up at him, and then shook his head after a moment. "God damn... You're hard not to love. That's a really sweet thing to say, Scottie... Thank you for that."

"You're welcome. It just kinda... Hit me. I shouldn't have been so hard on you, after you went through something like that... Oh fuck, are your ribs okay? He didn't--?"