Worried: A Scomiche Short Story

Part 5: Support System

A/N: I'm not so sure on this part...It was oddly difficult for me to write, but I'm hoping it's still ok and on par with the other parts. Let me know what you think? As always I look forward to your thoughts and reactions!

Mitch continued to follow Scott's lead, taking long, slow, deep breaths and focusing on the steady pulse of Scott's hands around his own. With Scott in close proximity and his world feeling just slightly more towards center, he tried to dial back into the ongoing conversation regarding the band's current project.

Suddenly Avi's voice cut into Mitch's hazy mind state from across the room. "Hey Scott?" he started, "I think we're ready for you and Kirstie to start layering in the base harmonies for this part. Would you guys mind coming over here so we can get going on this?"

Upon hearing this, Mitch's body stiffened and his breath quietly hitched before he forced it back into an even tempo for Scott's sake more than his own. Mitch's guilty conscious immediately took over and his mind ran away with him. Of course, right. Pull yourself together, come on. We're at work. This is work. We're supposed to be working. If I can't pull myself together enough to work then of course at least Scott needs to. You're holding up the whole band. Come on, Mitch, you're being ridiculous.

Mitch hurriedly withdrew his fingers from Scott's hands and went to pull his legs off Scott's lap. Slightly startled by the sudden change in Mitch's demeanor, Scott removed his hands in case Mitch was feeling too trapped, and sat up a little straighter on the sunken couch. He glanced over hesitantly at Avi before briefly returning his focus to Mitch, worry written across all of his features.

"It's fine, I'll be fine. Go work. It's what we're here for." Mitch tried to sound confident and upbeat, but it came out clipped and shaky. He wasn't fooling anyone, especially not Scott, with that tone of voice. In an attempt to further convince him, Mitch leaned over with a forced smile and nudged his friend's shoulder as if to reiterate that he'd be "fine". Still, Scott didn't seem so sure, but when he saw the expectant look on Avi's face, he realized that Mitch, as much as he hated the thought, was right: they were all here to work. Though it wasn't an ideal situation for Mitch, they only had so much time in the studio, and they did need to get this song arranged.

"Yeah...Sorry Avi, yeah I'm coming," Scott regretfully replied as he surveyed Mitch one more time, just to be sure. He patted Mitch's knee one last time in reassurance before he pulled himself up off the comfy couch and crossed the room to take his place with the others at the electronic keyboard in the corner. He readied his fingers to play with chords and notes until they found the vibe they liked and were ready to layer in Mitch's solo over the top.

Kirstie quietly observed this whole exchange play out and felt her heart pang a little bit in her chest out of empathy for Mitch. Though it was never as frequent or intense as it was for Mitch, she'd felt the tight and uncomfortable binds of anxiety before. She understood. And really, the whole team understood, or at least sympathized, and each had their own ways of helping Mitch pull through difficult spells.

Scott, well, we've already seen what Scott does for Mitch. He just makes everything so easy. There were never any unneeded questions asked nor any judgements passed because he just cared so much. He could read Mitch like a book and Mitch always went to him first whenever possible. Scott was compassionate and would take gentle care of him if needed like he'd done today, but could also take charge of situations when Mitch needed him to, like he had done on that horrible day in the airport.

Kirstie had a way of making every space feel like home. Mitch and Kirstie could have "girl time" with yummy snacks and old school movies that reminded them of their childhood. They would disappear for hours with a bottle of wine to curl up under a duvet in one of their hotel rooms and just chat the night away. She made his heart feel light and whole again because she was so filled with warmth and joy. They had a closeness that can come only with growing up together and Mitch loved that he could rely on that.

Avi was the rock. He was always there when Mitch desperately wanted to be alone, but really didn't want to feel lonely. On particularly difficult show days, it wasn't uncommon to find Mitch sitting quietly with him in his dressing room while he strummed gentle melodies on his guitar before they took to the stage. Avi being a man of few words, the pair often fell into companionable silence and Mitch's world slowed as a result. Avi was steady and calm, and his deep quiet voice had a soothing effect over anyone he spoke to. Mitch appreciated the quiet and level headspace he could reach with him.

Kevin, the master of productivity, always had something for him to do, or something new and interesting for him to learn about. They could sit and discuss songwriting ideas, work on concept proposals for upcoming videos, or toss around ideas for songs to cover as a group. If neither were in the mood to do work, Kevin always had tidbits of information or news that could be discussed between the two. Whatever the case, the distraction always gave Mitch's busy mind something to focus in on.

Even Esther and Kate did their part to keep him on track. When they were on the road, they kept the whole ensemble on a tight, detailed schedule. They let him know what was happening when and gave him plenty of warning to prepare. They made sure he actually ate three decent meals a day, drank gross amounts of water, and got more than 8 hours of sleep wherever possible. They were incredible at their jobs and their attention to detail helped him feel just a little bit more in control of his crazy schedule. Needless to say, as difficult as managing his anxiety could get, he definitely had one hell of a support system around him.