Incurable

Eighteen

Mitch had only giggled. "I don't mind."

Jen tried to look around him. "And Scott? You're okay?"

Scott glanced around the circle, before blushing and looking down at his lap. "Yes." He practically squeaked.

Jen sat up a little, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Are you alright?"

Scott looked back up at her and smiled, not responding this time.

Mitch elaborated for him. "He was trying to use a verbal answer, but it made him a little nervous is all. He's really working hard on that."

Scott blushed again, turning his head to hide his face from the others.

Jen smiled widely, scribbling something down quickly. "That's fantastic! Thank you, Scott. Thank you very much."

Scott just nodded, not meeting anyone's eyes at all.

"Could you just do me one favor? Can you please speak a sentence with at least four words in it? Just four."

Scott spoke quietly, but he spoke. "Mitch is absolutely beautiful."

Mitch blushed, and Jen smiled before writing something else down.

She shook her head, still looking at her notes. "You're such a sweetheart. I'm glad you're really trying to get better."

He smiled at her, and blushed at everyone staring at him, before setting his forehead on Mitch's shoulder to shield himself from embarrassment.

Jen scribbled a few more things down before moving on to Kirstie. "How is your day going, Kirst?"

"Pretty good. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with these guys later. We haven't talked very much today."

"Why not?"

Kirstie glanced around the circle at the others, staring at her curiously. "Well, Kev is usually reading or something, Scott always occupies himself with making Mitch happy, and I didn't want to bug Avi."

Jen hummed. "Sounds to me like you can't find your place in their lives. But I know that they appreciate you very much."

Avi nodded and looked over at Kirstie, his hands folded in his lap. "I wasn't doing anything important. You can always come hang out with me."

Kirstie just smiled at him. "I... Well, thank you.. But I..."

"Oh." Avi misunderstood what she was trying to say. "You wanted to hang out with someone else, that's all."

"No, I--"

Mitch interrupted her. "She just doesn't want to have an episode in front of you." He was staring down at Scott's hand, which he was playing with in his lap.

Avi frowned, forgetting about everyone else for a moment as he stared at Kirstie. "You don't have to worry about that, Kit. I wouldn't mind helping you out."

She couldn't force herself to speak, she was so embarrassed.

Jen looked up from her notes. "You shouldn't be ashamed of your disorder, Kirstin. We all have problems. And no one is going to judge you because of it."

Avi nodded, eyes still on Kirstie. "Exactly. You watch me get lunch from a different side of the cafeteria every single day. And I don't think you judge me for that. So why would I, in return, judge you?"

Kirstie just kept her eyes down, speaking quietly. "I don't know."

Avi reached across the circle to grab her hand, and smiled when she looked up at him. "I'm here for you, whenever you need it."

*********

Mitch had been thinking about the meeting ever since he and Scott left, hand in hand.

Scott noticed his unusual silence, and quickly pulled him aside, as the others continued walking back to the dormitories.

Mitch blinked at him a few times, but when he didn't speak, Mitch began. "What?"

"What's wrong?"

Mitch looked away, trying to avoid the subject but inadvertently making Scott even more concerned. "Nothing."

Scott pouted at him, and squeezed his hand.

"No, it's nothing. Don't look at me like that." Mitch tried.

Scott frowned even more. "Babe..."

Mitch pulled his arm out of Scott's grip, causing Scott to flinch, and took a step away. "Don't do that."

The only reason he came back, was because Scott looked like he might cry.

Mitch took the step forward to regain his previous stance, and hugged the larger boy. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just... Don't want to talk about it. It's stupid."

"Not stupid." Scott mumbled, hugging Mitch back tightly.

"A little bit stupid."

"No."

Mitch moved away from him, and stared down at their intertwined hands. "I just feel like... You're too good to me. Jen sees it, Kirstie sees it, Kevin sees it... I see it."

"What?"

Mitch scoffed, but still kept his eyes low. "Kirstie said something about it. Jen thinks you're sweet because of how you look after me... Whenever you're forced to speak, you always say something about me. Usually a compliment for me or something."

"So?"

"So... You're really nice, and I... I don't think I deserve such a nice person."

Scott hugged him again, moving once to kiss his temple, before speaking into his ear quietly. "You deserve the world."

"How can you say that? I talk too much, I always speak my mind even when it hurts people, I'm not nearly attractive enough for you, I--"

"No." Scott interrupted loudly, hugging Mitch a little tighter.

Mitch froze, and his mouth hung open a little, as he pulled back to look Scott in the eye. Scott, in all the time Mitch has known him, has never interrupted anyone. Especially not Mitch.

Scott realized what he'd done, and bit his lip, the universal sign for not wanting to speak. And Mitch knew it.

Mitch smiled a little. "Keep going. No, what?"

Scott blushed and looked down. "Don't say that..."

"Say what? That I'm unattractive and talk too much and--"

Scott interrupted him this time with a kiss.

Mitch pushed him back, still wanting him to speak. "Come on, Scott. Tell me."

Scott wished he could. He wished he could go on for hours about how beautiful Mitch was. About how much he would do for him.

Scott would give anything to be able to give Mitch compliments at random times, just because he could.

To tell Mitch he loved him every single second, of every single day.

But he couldn't.

****