Different (Scomiche)

twenty five.

One more chapter after this.

I had looked everywhere for him. He was supposed to meet me here like he did every night. Why wasn't Mitch showing up? Why would tonight be different than any other? I hope I didn't anger him, but I don't know what I said that would've made him mad at me. I didn't say anything bad at all.

I find myself walking towards the Shack, shocked when I saw Avi on the way. He waves at me with a smile and walks over to me.

"Hey, man." Avi greets with a big smile. I wave slightly, not very enthusiastic to be up so late for absolutely no reason.

"Have you seen Mitch?" I ask, cutting straight the point. He seemed a little shocked. He looked at me like I was stupid.

"He left...I thought you knew." Avi says. "Kevin took him to the tunnel like five minutes ago." I couldn't believe what Avi was saying. He was leaving? "Kirstie is with him." I told him no, I convinced him that leaving wasn't possible.

He didn't tell me. He was going to leave without talking to me. I could feel myself tear up and sprint away from Avi. I didn't care about the way I left. I flew into the building faster than I thought I could run.

The stairs were the issue. I could easily fall, so I took the railing. Now I know this probably looks like some action movie, a tall kid that was crying sliding down a railing to get to his lover the quickest way. The only thing is, Mitch is stubborn. It won't end like a movie where he stays with me. He will yell at me and leave, and that is if I can even get there in time.

But I got down pretty quickly, continuing to sprint through the small tunnel. I was completely out of breath and my stomach had a cramp. I didn't care. I kept going.

And when I take the final turn, I saw them climbing the ladder. I yelled, but I didn't seem to be loud enough. I saw Kevin sitting at the top of the ladder while the other two were outside.

"Kevin, move!" I yell. He moved pretty quick, probably terrified that I would ram right into him if he didn't. I climbed the ladder quickly, about two steps at a time. And then I was outside.

I hadn't been outside before. The sounds, the heat, the surroundings. The ground felt different. It had more water in it. It had been raining. It never rained in the society. There was rocks. And my mouth dropped as Mitch stared at me in shock.

"What are you doing?!" He yells. He takes a few steps back with Kirstie. I couldn't focus right now. The outdoors was too much. I snap myself back into reality.

"Wow." I whisper. I started looking around, at the sky and at the trees. Mitch looked annoyed. Taking one look at him is what made me realize that I was here for him. So I walk up to him. He backed away. "Mitch, talk to me please. Before you go." I grab his hands. He wasn't slow to snap from my arms and move back again.

"No!" He yells at me, looking frustrated and regretful. I thought he was going to cry, but he held himself together. Kirstie whispers something to him and steps away, moving far enough to not listen to our conversation. Mitch sighs.

"You were going to leave me."I whisper. "Without an explanation." He didn't move when I came up to him and grabbed his hands again. He just closed his eyes and let me talk. "Mitch."

"What!" He snaps. I didn't know what to say, so I stayed quiet and let him think of something. "I didn't tell you for a reason."

"Why?" I ask. He wouldn't look at me, no matter how hard I tried to get his eye contact.

"Because I didn't want a temptation to stay. I'm not staying. I'm not. You won't convince me too." He says. I nod and just hold him, pulling him in for a hug. He didn't hug me back but also didn't push me away.

"Don't go." I whispers. He doesn't say anything. "I can't survive without you. I can't. I lost Alex, I can't lose you too." He pushes me back a little.

"Alex is different. You loved him." Mitch whispers. I finally got his gaze. He was either trying to convince me that I didn't love him, or he was honesty oblivious.

"Are you serious, Mitch?" I ask him. He looks away. "Do you really think I don't love you?" He didn't have a reply, no motion or anything. "Say something."

"I don't know!" He finally says. "You tried so hard to not love me. I figured you didn't. You really had something against loving me and it hurt." He was right.

"That's the thing, though. I did try not to love you. But I do. Not only do I love you, but I'm in love with you. That means something. I am not in love with Alex. Yes, I love him. But not like I love you." I admit. I don't know why it took me this long to admit it. I knew it was true. Most people did except Mitch.

"Fuck you." I wince at his words. I wasn't expecting it. "I want to leave here and feel satisfied. You're making that hard."

"I don't know what to do." I say honestly.

"You weren't supposed to say that. Fuck you, Scott. I want to hate you so much. God damnit." He hugs me back. I don't know if it's because he needed support to keep himself from falling or because he wanted to hug me.

"I'm sorry." I say. "I don't want you to go, though." He nods and pushes me back fully. He shakes his head this time.

"Good bye, Scott." He says and turns back. He was crying and I think I was too. I wanted him to stay. I was loosing him. He was leaving. I wouldn't see him again.

And I was just watching. I want him to be happy and he didn't want to be with me. He didn't love me, he didn't say it back. He wanted to leave with Kirstie and I couldn't blame him for not having the same feelings. So I turned back to the latch that open with Kevin. He looked sad too. I think we all were. I put my foot on the ladder. I was about to do it, about to leave and never see him again.

"Scott!" I hear. I wanted to hear it so bad, Mitch's voice calling me. And he did. And he was running over, but Kirstie was still over there.

He kisses me. His lips were on mine. It felt better than the first time. It was more emotional, more passionate. We were both crying, but we weren't pulling away.

I slip my arms around his waist and pull him closer. It is so emotional. Our last kiss, or hopefully this was his way of saying that he was staying.

He pulls away, but not far. He was looking me in the eye and I was looking back. I couldn't look away from him. He was stunning, tears in his eyes, making his skin glisten.

"I'm still not staying." He whispers. I nod. "But you need to know that I love you too. In love." And he turned around again, except this time, he didn't look back. And he left.