Mitch's P.O.V.

The next morning I was an emotional wreck. Between the abusive boyfriend and having to keep it a secret from my best friend, there wasn't much time for sleep the night before. I had tossed an turned for hours trying to get them off of my mind, but I just couldn't. So I had given up on sleep, and likewise, had only gotten one restless hour of it.

I walked into my bathroom and turned on the light, groaning at my grim complexion.

The bruising had spread across my cheekbone and had turned a deeper shade of purple that changed to red as it advanced away from the open sore, which also looked pretty gruesome.

To make matters worse, I had pretty dark bags under my eyes, just completing the whole ugly look I was sporting. You couldn't really tell on my left side, as it was pretty much covered in bruising, but it definitely showed on the right side.

I sighed, grabbing my makeup kit, and started to work on covering up my dark marks.

While I was working, I realized I needed something stronger than a powder or cream. I needed an attitude change. If I was going to convince Scott that nothing was going on without hurting him, I would have to try and act as normal as possible.

But it would be hard, considering that I felt more like I was breaking apart than my normal self.

Scott's P.O.V.

I woke up feeling hopeful and ready to start on my mission. Make Mitch Happy By Trying To Keep My Feelings For Him A Secret. Okay, maybe my mission name needed a little help, but the intentions behind it were good.

I threw on a floral T-shirt, dark jeans, and silver pair of shoes before darting out into the living room.

It was oddly quiet. Usually when I woke up Mitch was already up, eating breakfast in the dining room with Spongebob on the T.V.

But this morning, I heard nothing. I shook it off quickly. Today's going to be a good day, I told myself. You're going to go out and have a blast, and worrying about every little thing Mitch did was not on the agenda.

I had gotten a text from Kirstie last night saying that she wanted to go see Insurgent at 2:30. I checked the clock above the stove. 10:34.

Mitch should definitely be up by now. I sighed. Stop thinking about him Scott! He's probably just sleeping in. That's all.

But five minutes later, I found myself knocking on Mitch's closed door.

"Mitch?" I called softly. There was no reply. I opened the door slightly to see if he was still sleeping. Oddly enough, his bed was empty.

I walked in, curiosity getting the better of me.

When I turned my head, I saw Mitch, still in his boxer shorts, positioned in front of the bathroom mirror with various makeup tubes and compacts spread out on the counter.

I stood there watching him, smiling a little to myself. He was humming Seasons of Love from Rent softly as he applied some cream to his cheeks. He looked absolutely beautiful in this moment, where he was just being himself.

Damn. He made it so hard to not admire him. I shook my head, trying to clear my head, then cleared my throat to let Mitch know that I was there.

He jumped a little. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it Scottland. Just didn't think anyone else was in here, that's all."

"Why are you putting on makeup? Are you going out again?"

He suddenly looked very nervous. "I...uh...have a...date. With Troye."

"Again?" I asked flatly. I was slightly annoyed. It seemed like Troye was trying to steal Mitch away from me, even if it wasn't exactly true.

"Yeah. Sorry. But hey, I'll be back around two. Do you want to do something then?"

I groaned. "I can't. I already made plans with Kirstie for the movies at 2:30."

"Well can I come?"

His question made me panic. Wasn't the whole point of me getting out of the house to avoid thinking about Mitch?

"You wouldn't like the movie," I replied, my tone final. But Mitch wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

"What movie is it?"

My mind raced, trying to come up with an answer. "Its called The Solar System."

"What the hell is The Solar System?"

"It's a documentary about the planets and the galaxy and stuff. Really interesting."

He raise an eyebrow. "Kirstie wants to watch a documentary on the solar system?"

"Yeah! She loves stuff like that, but she doesn't like telling people about it. She thinks it makes her sound geeky."

"Not going to argue with that Sasquatch. Alright, I guess I'll just hang out here until you get back then."

"Sorry you don't like the movie. I'll bring you back some candy if you want."

"That's okay."

We stood there staring at each other for a few minutes before Mitch cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Um...Scott?"

"Yeah?"

"I kind of need to get dressed."

"Oh right!" I said, scrambling out the door. "Oh, and Mitch?" I added, poking my head back inside his room.

"Yeah Scott?"

"Have fun on your date."

He smiled, but it didn't look like a genuine Mitch Grassi grin. "Thanks."