In Another Life

Nine

"Blake didn't cheat on me."

It was the very first thing Mitch said to Scott upon arriving back at their dorm the next night. He watched as Scott slowly looked up from the textbook laying in bed in front of him.

"Really," he questioned flatly. The look on his face suggested that he didn't believe that statement one bit.

Mitch shut the door behind him and nodded his head. "The guy he was talking to last night was a friend. A friend who has a girlfriend," he continued to explain. "He's a business major but he likes singing, too, and so he was thinking about auditioning for the group next year. Blake was giving him a tour around the house."

Scott blinked at him. "They were super touchy feely, though."

The conversation was giving Mitch major deja vu.

"So are you and I," Mitch pointed out. "That doesn't mean anything."

Scott was silent at that; he obviously lacked a rebuttal.

Mitch didn't say anything else either, quietly heading over to his dresser to start going through his clothes. It was the main reason why he'd needed to come back to the dorm in the first place – he and the rest of CalTones were leaving fairly early for quarterfinals tomorrow and he needed to get his outfit prepared.

He probably would've come home even sooner if it weren't for Blake convincing him to stay at his apartment longer. He was the one being overprotective now, and had been wary to let Mitch go home to Scott alone.

Mitch didn't know what it was about him that made him give off a delicate flower vibe to everyone he was close with, but he supposed he really needed to toughen up a bit.

Despite Blake's pleas, however, Mitch had still insisted on heading back to the dorm eventually – only after he had a very long conversation with Blake about what happened the night before, though.

And now it was Scott's turn. Mitch didn't exactly want to, especially since he was still hungover and his head was killing him. But he knew he might as well get it over with now.

"So I–"

"I'm s–"

Scott began to speak at the exact same time Mitch did. They both laughed just a little, Mitch allowing himself to actually smile as he looked over at Scott. "Can I go first, please?" he requested.

Scott nodded. "Go ahead."

Mitch sat down on the edge of his bed across the room from Scott, folding up his outfit for tomorrow as he started to think of the exact words he wanted to say. "I'm sorry," he began finally.

"You're sorry?"

Mitch nodded. "I am. I shouldn't have went home with Blake last night, not after he pushed you like that. That was such a shitty thing for me to do."

The guilt had been eating at him pretty much from the moment he arrived at Blake's apartment, and had only gotten even worse once he woke up and was no longer drunk.

"I actually considered breaking up with him for a minute," Mitch added. "But I didn't– Blake felt really bad for what he did after I explained everything. He just saw me crying and freaking out and you with your hands on me and he assumed the worst. And I know you would've done the same if the roles were reversed."

"Probably, yeah," Scott admitted.

Mitch was glad to hear Scott's confirmation. The knowledge that Scott wouldn't hesitate to act that way to protect him was the only thing helping ease the guilt at all. "He apologized, though. And he promised to apologize to you in person when he sees you tomorrow," he made sure to tell him.