Black And White

Hundred Forty Three

As soon as Mitch walked by Alex in the hallway, he jumped on him in a hug. 

Alex hugged back tightly. "Mitch, I messed up... I made a mistake..."

"I know, honey... It's okay. I want you to know that I smacked him across the face."

"You did?" Alex pushed him back a little. "How did you find out?"

"How did I..? Alex, you called me yesterday. Remember?"

"Oh, oh, you're talking about Avi."

Mitch squinted a little. "Yes... Who else would I be talking about..? Lex, did something else happen?"

Alex stared at him for a second, before he had to look away to avoid how disappointed Mitch would be in him. "I messed up..."

"Alexander, look at me right now. What happened? Are you okay?"

"I--I got scared, and I went to someone else, and... And I made a mistake."

Scott suddenly walked up and gave Mitch a quick pat on the ass before kissing his cheek. "Hey, babe, you ready to go?"

Mitch held a hand up toward him. "Alex... Who was it?"

Alex kept his eyes on the floor. "Nobody..."

"Someone I know..?"

"Not... Personally."

"Oh no.. Someone from our class..? Or on the team? Was it Jake? Or David? Please tell me it wasn't David."

Scott glanced at Alex. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Alex nodded quickly. "Oh sure... Fine, totally fine."

Mitch looked to Scott. "Let's all go to the parking lot... And we can talk about it."

Scott held his hand. "We can get ice cream or something. Maybe that'll cheer you up."

Alex nodded, moving out of the way so they could walk by and he could follow. 

Scott grabbed his arm to get his attention, before letting go. "Hey, seriously though. Are you okay? I'm cool to beat up whoever."

"I'm fine.. Thanks, Scott."

He shrugged. "If you're sure... Just keep it in mind."

*

Mitch held Scott's hand tightly, Scott's other hand on the steering wheel. Mitch turned a little to face Alex. "Just to be clear... You and Jake...?"

"Uh huh." Alex confirmed, eyes staring out the window. "I... I let Avi do those things to me, because I believed that he wanted to be with me. But... He told me he loved me, and it made me nervous because... He never wants to commit to me. He just wants to fuck around in private, and by letting him do that to me, I gave him all the power I was holding over him."

"Oh, honey... Have you talked to him about that?"

"No... I was scared to."

Scott looked at him in the mirror. "I'm sorry if asking this makes me a shitty person... But I don't really understand how that resulted in... You and Jake in the locker room showers."

Alex shook his head slowly. "I don't know... He just... I went in there to put my bag down for practice this afternoon, and... He was in there too. And he asked if I was okay, and after talking to him for a little... He-- He... Y'know. We did a thing."

"That's all it took?"

Mitch smacked his arm. "Hey, be nice. Apologize to him."

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to be shitty... I just don't get it."