Color

Sixty Three

"Baby, I'm really really sorry. Maybe I didn't delete all of them. Maybe--"

"Where's your phone?" Scott asked loudly, reaching past Mitch to grab it off the night table.

Mitch just watched him, as he typed in the password and began searching through the phone. He tried again. "Honey, I'm sorry. You know that I think you're beautiful and gorgeous and sexy but I just don't keep those things around... I mean, I get to see you every day of my life, why would I need--?"

Scott tossed Mitch's phone down onto the bed. "I'm not blaming you for deleting them, it just... It just makes me sad."

Mitch couldn't help but frown at how soft Scott was being. "Aw, pretty boy... I'm sad that you're sad."

Scott looked down at Mitch's phone sadly. "Don't be upset... You're supposed to be excited for school."

"How can I be excited when the love of my life is so disappointed?"

Scott just shook his head. "It's okay... I can't think of a single reason why you'd want those pictures anyway..."

Mitch leaned forward to kiss him, but Scott didn't participate at all. He allowed Mitch to kiss him once, before he leaned away slightly.

Mitch kissed Scott's cheek once as well. "Baby, stop pouting. I'll take more pictures if you want. I mean.. You have those pictures of us making out on your camera, maybe I can just take some of them and--"

"I don't want you to take more. And... Those pictures are mine, they're not for you. You're supposed to have your own..."

"I know but--"

"You don't even have the ones from the beginning of our relationship? That didn't mean anything to you?"

"Of course it did, baby. It meant the world to me. I just... I just didn't keep them."

Scott slowly began to stand from the bed. "No, it's okay. I was just checking."

"Honey, please--"

"No, it's fine. I guess I'm just sentimental or something... Hopeless romantic remember? I just didn't realize that I was the only one in our relationship that kept all your pictures, and screenshots pictures just to crop everyone but you out of them, and keeps all our texts and saves all your voice mails just so I can hear your voice when I need to, and..." He shook his head.

Mitch's heart was breaking for him. "Aw, baby, you're so sweet and I feel like such an asshole I'm so sorry."

Scott gave him a smile, one of the saddest Mitch had ever seen. "No, it's okay. I'm being immature. You should get ready for school, babe."

*

Mitch got dressed, brushed his teeth and did his hair before walking out toward the kitchen.

Scott was sitting at the table, with three things on the table in front of him; His phone, Mitch's phone and a cup of coffee. Alex was sitting next to him, Avi beside him as well with his head on Alex's shoulder.

He sure as shit didn't want to be awake this early, but wanted to wish Alex a good day at school.

Mitch walked into the room, and set a hand on Scott's back as he sat down at the table beside him. "Hey, baby. Are you--?"

Scott pushed the hand off of him. "So you can watch porn but can't keep any of my pictures?"

Mitch quickly looked at the other two at the table, not wanting to have this conversation in front of their friends. "Uhh, Scott..?"

"What? You can't even talk about it? Then why the fuck are you doing it?"

"Do not take that tone of voice with me, Hoying. You always told me you didn't have a problem with--"

"I don't. But that was before I knew you were paying more attention to porn than to me."

"That's not even true, why are you being dramatic..? Why are we arguing about this?"

Scott shoved Mitch's phone toward him. "Never mind then. It doesn't even matter. We can discuss this later."

Mitch shook his head slowly. "You don't feel like you're being a little too much..?"

Avi spoke up quietly, unsure if he should intervene or not. "Sorry, I just... Need to clarify. You didn't save any of his pictures..? Is that what I'm hearing?"

Scott leaned back in his chair. "He'd rather get off looking at someone else than looking at me, that's all."

"Scott, that's not true." Mitch snapped. "And you know damn well that it's not true."

Scott sighed softly. "Babe, I don't want to argue... Okay? I'm just tired, that's why I'm being bratty. But... I really want to talk about this later. Calmly."

"Fine. That's fine. Are you gonna keep my phone all day, or..?"

"Actually yeah. I can put some of our pictures on it from my camera, so... Take my phone today? And then you can still contact everyone."

Mitch nodded once. "Same password?"

"Always the same."

Mitch looked down, pushing his own phone back toward Scott and picking up Scott's phone to keep for himself.

Alex stood from the table. "Mitchie, I'm gonna make you a plate of food and then we have to go. Okay?"

**