Incurable

Twenty Three

Alex was hanging out with Mitch, since Jake was in visitation.

Alex went straight there after he and Jake finished group, but not before giving Jake an encouraging hug before he went to visitation.

Mitch was just nonstop talking about Scott. But Alex didn't mind. Even if it was because of a disorder, Alex was just glad to see him in a good mood.

Mitch finally stopped and smiled. "What about you and Jake?"

"What about us?"

"Have you guys hooked up yet?"

Alex pressed his lips together for a second, wishing Scott was here to control Mitch's straightforward speech. "No, Mitch."

"Why not?"

"We're not that close."

Mitch scoffed. "I disagree."

"How can you...? You're always so focused on Scott, how can you tell if Jake and I are close?"

Mitch shifted the way he was seated, turning to face Alex as they sat on Alex's bed. "You're not getting jealous again, are you?"

"I'm pretty sure you were the one that was jealous."

"Nuh uh. You were."

Alex sighed, before he gave in, after deciding that this argument would be a waste of time. "Yeah okay. I was the one that was jealous."

"Told you so!"

Alex squinted at him. "Hey... Speaking of... Where is Scott?"

Mitch just shrugged. "He said he'd come get me when he was done with whatever he was doing."

"You didn't ask what he was doing?"

Mitch just shook his head.

Jake suddenly walked into the room, wiping one of his eyes.

Alex sprung up and walked over quickly. "Jakey? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It was Mom's turn. I hate when it's Mom's turn."

Scott knocked on the door a second later, knowing Mitch needed to leave the room.

Mitch jumped up and ran over. "Hi!"

Scott just smiled at him, grabbing his hand and leading him out of the room.

Mitch giggled. "Where're we going?"

"Group, baby."

"Aw, I like when you call me that! How adorable."

Scott grinned at him, still leading him out to where the group sessions were held.

As they walked through the hallway, Mitch glanced at a clock on the wall. "Aren't we a little early?"

Scott shrugged, still walking.

Mitch giggled. He began swinging their hands back and forth in between them. "You wanted to spend time with me? That's cute! I like spending time with you too!"

Scott grinned at him as they walked, holding the door open for Mitch when they entered their group room.

No one was in there quite yet, but Scott still sat in one of the chairs. Mitch sat on the floor in front of him, looking down at his hands and inspecting his fingernails.

Scott just watched him, admiring the smaller boy as he always did.

Mitch looked up all of a sudden with a smile. "Hey, did you--?" He stopped, and Scott watched with wide eyes as Mitch fell to lay down completely as his body began to seize.

Scott quickly jumped out of his chair and fell next to Mitch, turning him over as gently as he could, just in case Mitch threw up.

The seizure only lasted for about a minute, and Mitch gasped to take in a deep breath as soon as it was over. Scott quickly scanned up and down Mitch's body to look for injuries, even though he was fairly certain there were none.

Mitch blinked a few times, not speaking for a while as his brain caught back up to his surroundings.

Scott picked Mitch up carefully, and then sat down in one of the chairs to allow Mitch to sit on his lap as Scott calmed him down.

Scott ran his hand up and down Mitch's upper arm, kissing his neck about a dozen times until Mitch became fully aware again.

Mitch looked up at him with watery eyes. "Did it happen?"

Scott nodded, but hugged Mitch even tighter so he'd know it was okay.

The rest of their group began to file in, taking seats as they talked amongst themselves.

Kirstie saw the tear stains on Mitch's face, and frowned, setting a hand on Avi's leg as she leaned towards Mitch and Scott. "Mitchie? Are you okay?"

Mitch smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I am. Thank you."

"Did you have an episode?"

Mitch nodded. "Mhmm. But it's okay. Scottie was here to help me."

Jen chose that moment to shut the door loudly. "You had an episode, Mitch?"

Mitch smiled at her as she walked by, and waited for her to sit down before he spoke. "Yes I did. But Scott helped me, so I'm okay. Little tired though."

"As expected. Let me know if you two need to leave early so you can get some sleep, Mitch."

Mitch nodded again. "Okay."

*******

Later into the meeting, Jen turned her attention to Kevin. "So how was your day today, Kevin?"

"Well... I met this girl in the Greens. She's really kind, helped me pick up some papers when I dropped them when I was going to my room."

Avi grinned at him. "How sweet is that? What's her name?"

Kevin smiled sheepishly. "I don't know... She just helped me is all..."

Mitch giggled tiredly, his arms around Scott's neck while he sat on top of the taller boy. "Aww, we have to go find her for you. This is like a fairy tale!"

Scott grinned at him fondly, pressing a quick kiss to Mitch's temple before returning his attention to Kevin.

Kevin waved a hand dismissively. "No, no... That's okay. She's in the Greens so... She'll be out of here pretty quickly. Might be better not to get attached."

Jen frowned at that. "But maybe... Knowing that she's out there will motivate you into getting out of here quicker. I hate seeing you five locked up in here."

Kevin shrugged, fidgeting with his hands. "I guess... I don't know. If I see her again, I'll point her out to you guys."

Jen waved her pen at the rest of the people in the circle. "And you guys have to tell me immediately. I love gossip."

Mitch gasped and giggled again. "Me too!"

Scott grinned and accidently let his words fall out. "We know." He blushed immediately and hid his face in Mitch's neck.

Jen played it off though, laughing and agreeing. "Of course we know. Mitch is like the epitome of drama queen."

Mitch giggled. "I prefer 'Queen', thanks."

Scott was still mortified, that he let his speech get the best of him like that. But he peeked out at the rest of them, seeing them all in another conversation.

And that's when he decided, maybe speaking isn't the worst thing that could happen.

****