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12. A Little Space

12. A Little Space

"You're beautiful, you know."

He could handle seeing Mark's social media post. He had made himself proud, leaving his phone behind and distancing himself from the mess.

What he couldn't handle was whatever deal Kirstin had made with Harry Fucking Styles to make him feel better.

What kind of idiot did they take him for, anyway?

"Stop that," he growled through the pain that shot down his spine. He locked eyes with Harry's beautiful green ones, and gave his best glare that he was pretty sure could have turned the man to stone.

Those green eyes flashed with an emotion that Scott couldn't quite place. Shock? Shame? He didn't care. He needed to increase his distance before he burst into tears.

So... he left.

He hoped that his friends were all in their own dressing rooms, and that he could make it to his own with no interruption. He breathed a sigh of relief when the corridor was empty, slamming his door shut and flopping on his couch, drained of all energy.

Holding yourself together required quite a bit of effort.

He glared at the phone on the table in front of him, and his fingers itched to turn it back on. He looked at it for what felt like an hour, taunting him.

He groaned, picking it up and running his finger lightly along the power button. Instead of pressing down, he stood and he was knocking on Mitch's door in the next moment.

"Scott," Mitch greeted, his tone surprised and emotional. Mitch was looking at him like he wanted to reach out and hug him, and Scott prayed that he wouldn't. He didn't think he could bear it.

"Can you hold onto this for me?" Scott asked quickly, extending the device towards his friend.

"Of course, hun..."

"Before you ask, yes, I saw the post. No, I haven't seen anybody's comments on it, and yes, I'll be fine. Gonna go take a nap. Okay?"

Mitch fiddled with the phone in his hands and bit his lip. "Okay..." He was searching his eyes. "Can I come? I could use a nap before the show."

Scott turned away and made his way back to his room. "The more the merrier, I guess. But leave the phone in your dressing room."

By the time Mitch entered Scott's room, the blond's tall frame was already sprawled on the couch, his arms outstretched with his eyes closed. Mitch shut the door without locking it, in case they overslept, before kicking off his shoes and settling into Scott's embrace, basically on top of him due to the narrow couch.

It had been a while since they had done this, as Mark had found it to be a bit... inappropriate.

Mitch enjoyed the familiar feeling of these arms, wrapped around him as he snuggled up against his chest, even if it did feel just a touch slimmer than last time he had done so.

"Tell me if I'm hurting your back, okay? Did you ever have one of the medics look at it?"

But Mitch's questions were met with quiet, even breathing. At least he was finally asleep. Mitch tried to ignore how quickly it had happened after he laid down. Unhealthily fast.

They awoke to the sound of their names being called, softly.

Scott blinked awake, and thought for a minute that he might be dreaming.