I let out a breath, looking up at Scott. "It feels good to be back in LA," I commented.

"Oh yeah," he agreed, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Maybe next time I'm here longer, you guys can show me the good sights," Kirstin said, smiling widely on my other side.

"I wish your layover was longer than an hour," I said, looking at my friend.

"Yeah, but what can we do," she replied, shrugging with a smile on her face. "Next time, though, okay?"

"I'm holding you to that," I replied, bumping my shoulder against hers.

"Mitchie?!"

I looked back over the crowd, my smile growing even bigger as I saw Kevin rushing towards me.

Squealing, I rushed towards him, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Oh, I missed you so much!" He cried, squashing me against his chest.

"I missed you too!" I replied, smiling widely.

"God, I was so worried when I saw the news," He said, pulling away to look at me. "Ralph is a psycho, and I am so glad you left him when you did."

"I am too," I replied. "Are you okay, though? Nothing happened, right?"

"Oh no, nothing," He told me, shaking his head. "I was fine. I was more worried about you."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Good, good." I wished I could talk to my best friend more, because I always missed him. But he didn't have international roaming, and even though I did, his bill would still be huge, and I wouldn't do that to him. We emailed when we could, but we were both so busy it wasn't like we emailed every day.

"Kevin, how's the job?" Scott asked, moving to us.

"Great!" He cried, beaming. "I got a promotion!"

"Yay!" I cried, hugging him tightly again.

"Congrats," Kirstin said, moving to Scott's other side.

Pulling away from me, he gasped. "Oh my god, it is so nice to meet you!" Kevin cried, looking at Kirstin. "I mean, I know Scott, but I never thought I would actually meet you too!"

Kirstin laughed, holding out her hand. "Well, any friend of Mitch's is a friend of mine."

"Oh, come here then!" Kevin exclaimed, hugging her tightly.

"Ah, it's official now, Kirstin," I told her, wrapping my arm around Scott's waist, his arm doing the same. "Once you get a Kevin hug, you're a part of the friend group forever. Or, well, until you die or piss him off."

Scott laughed as Kevin rolled his eyes, pulling away from Kirstin. "Now, when does your flight leave?" He asked.

"An hour," she told him.

"Well, that gives us all an hour to relax then," He said, pulling her towards the nearest fast food place.

Scott and I followed, Kirstin looking back at us. "No, you guys don't have to wait with me!" She cried.

"Too bad," Scott replied, making me laugh.

-/::\-

I laughed, sipping my wine as the chick flick played in the background, Kevin and I just really catching up.

"Oh, Todrick sounds perfect," I said.

"No, Todrick is a great boyfriend," He replied. "Scott is perfect! Like, does that man have any flaws?"

I blushed, shaking my head. "No, not that I've seen. And...I don't know..." I shifted slightly.

"Hey, you guys have only been together a year," He said, placing his hand on top of mine. "Some guys are just great inside and out, and it's hard to see something wrong with them. And that's okay."

"You really think so?" I asked, looking at him. "I mean, every guy I've dated had a big flaw-"

"A big flaw you were able to work around," Kevin interrupted.

Sighing, I nodded. "I know. But..what if something...what if there's something with Scott I can't work around?"

"You will," He said, smiling. "Because I think you and Scott are meant to be. And I think, with all the crap you've dealt with already...I think you two can do anything."

I smiled, feeling tears well in my eyes. "You're the best friend anyone could ever ask for," I replied.

"I know," He responded, hugging me.

-/::\-

I glanced at Scott again as he looked over the store fronts. We walked through the mall, relaxing on our shopping trip. He looked down, meeting my eyes right as I looked away.

Pulling me to a stop in a somewhat secluded area, he asked, "Hey, is everything okay?"

I looked into his eyes, biting my lip as I thought of how I wanted to say it. Looking down at our intertwined hands, I asked, "Scottie, what's one of my biggest faults?"

"What?!"

I looked up, smiling slightly at the confusion written over his face. "What's one of my biggest faults?" I repeated.

He stuttered, and I laughed, "I'm not going to hate you, no matter what you say, Scooter. I promise."

He sighed, looking into my eyes. "Why are you asking?"

Biting my lip, I shrugged. "You know, nevermind," I told him, shaking my head. Smiling, I squeezed his hands. "My mind is just a mess right now, I guess."

Scott narrowed his eyes, responding, "Are you sure?"

I nodded, pulling him towards a large store nearby. "I'm positive. Let's just shop right now, and then we can talk later, okay?"

"Okay," he muttered, moving to kiss my cheek. Smiling, I let go of his hand to browse the racks, trying to find a great shirt for the small party Kevin was throwing on Saturday.

//::\\

Scott's eyes followed Mitch as he moved to the men's section, worry filling him. Why did he ask that question, what was going through his mind? Something felt off, and he wanted to push, but he couldn't bring himself to in public. No, they could talk when they had dinner at his place tonight.

"Oh my gosh, you're Scott Hoying!"

Turning, he smiled as a few teenage girls ran up to him. Chuckling, he signed the paper they held out. "You fans of the show?" he asked.

"Oh, it's the best," one of them said. "I love it."

"My mom gets angry because I don't do homework when the show is on."

"That's not good!" Scott cried, pointing to her. "School comes, first, okay?"

They all laughed, replying, "Okay."

//::\\

I smiled as Scott talked with his fans, signing their papers. I loved seeing him interact with fans, no matter where we went. He really did care for them, and I just loved that about him. Turning back to the dress shirts, I was about to pull one out to look at it when I felt something against my back.

I stiffened as I heard an all too familiar voice say, "Move, and this knife goes into you, Mitchell."

//::\\

Scott smiled, waving as the girls walked away. Laughing softly, he turned back towards the direction Mitch had went, but stopped as he didn't see him. Furrowing his eyebrows, he moved towards the last spot he had been in, calling out his name.

"Are you looking for the guy you came in with?"

Scott turned to face the employee, nodding furiously as he felt worry build in him. "Yes," he responded, moving towards the older lady. "Have you seen him?"

"He just walked out with a man, their arms around each other," she replied. "He looked scared, and it seemed like the other man was helping him."

Scott's stomach dropped. "Was he about 6'2"? Brown hair?"

The lady nodded, commenting, "And he had deep bags under his eyes. He looked like he needed sleep."

Cursing, Scott bolted out of the store, looking either way down the mall. He could feel his heart start to race as he tried to look through the crowd, and the anxiety creep into him.

Ralph was back. Ralph had gotten back into the states, and taken Mitch.

Oh god.

//::\\

I whimpered as Ralph slammed his foot against my rib cage, feeling the blood build in my mouth,

"You come here, with him?!" Ralph cried, kicking me again. "We use to come here, Mitchie! This was our place!"

I cried out as he reached down, gripping my hair and tugging my face up to look at him. "Are you just trying to rub it in my face?!"

Dropping my hair, I felt the pain in my head grow as I slammed back down onto the tile floor.

"You are mine!" Ralph screamed, kicking me again before kneeling down beside me. "And I'm going to make sure you remember it."

I clenched my eyes shut as he reached for my jeans, Ralph stopping as a voice rang out, "Hey, asshole!"

//::\\

Scott stepped further into the middle of the hall, looking every which direction for any sign, any clue as to where Ralph had taken him. "Oh god, please be safe," he muttered. Then he turned, seeing a small group gathered by a service entrance. Rushing towards them, he asked, "What's going on?"

"We hear screaming," a mother said, pulling her daughter towards her.

"What did it sound like?" Scott pushed.

"Someone yelled, 'We use to come here, Mitchie'," the father said.

Clenching his jaw, Scott pointed at the father. "Call 911. Now! Tell them Ralph Bryans in in this mall! Do it!"

The man pulled out his phone as Scott slammed into the doors, feeling his world stop as he saw Ralph, kneeling over Mitch.

"Hey, asshole!" Scott yelled at the top of his lungs.

Ralph turned to him instantly, standing as Scott rushed down towards him. "Come to save the prince?" Ralph asked. "Well he's mine!"

Scott didn't reply, he just lunged, his fist connecting his Ralph's jaw. He heard a snap as Ralph fell to the ground, Ralph coughing and spitting out blood.

He looked back up to Scott, a glint in his eyes as he opened his mouth again. But Scott didn't want to hear another word. He brought back his arm, punching Ralph again, right in the nose, as hard as he could.

Scott took a breath as he saw Ralph not move on he floor, then rushing to Mitch's side. Cupping his cheek gently, he felt tears well in his eyes. "You came," Mitch whispered, sobbing slightly.

"I will always come," Scott responded. "Always, you hear me?"

He sobbed, closing his eyes. "Oh god, it hurts," he whimpered.

"I know, but help is coming," Scott said. "Just stay awake for me, alright? You're going to be okay, I promise."

"Don't leave," Mitch begged, moving his hand to clench Scott's.

"I'm not going to," he replied, squeezing Mitch's hand. "I'm going to stay right here."

"Scott Hoying?" a voice called.

Looking up at the entrance to the service hall, Scott called, "Get an ambulance!"