"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.

"Good," Scott replied simply. It was a huge relief to see him be so nonchalant about the whole thing. "Can I say what I want to say, now?"

Mitch nodded.

"I'm sorry. Like, really fucking sorry, Mitch. I've felt so horrible all day long," he told him. "I handled that in such a horrible way, I should've gotten confirmation before I said anything and I definitely should've broached the subject at a much better time. I just wanted to protect you but I didn't do a very good job at that."

Scott's nonchalant nature was no longer; as he spoke he quickly began to sound more and more upset.

And if there was anything that pulled at Mitch's heart strings, it was a sad Scott Hoying.

"Scott," Mitch sighed. He set his pile of clothes aside and crossed the room over to Scott's bed, sitting down beside him. "Don't beat yourself up too much. I know you meant well," he assured him.

"I just hate that I made you cry. You were shaking and shit, and talking about how you're not good enough for anyone or whatever and– God, I never want to be the reason why you cry like that again."

Mitch didn't hesitate to pull Scott into a hug, wrapping his arms around him tight. "It's okay, Scott. I forgive you," he promised. "I don't exactly remember what I said but whatever it was, I can guarantee I already thought that about myself. It wasn't you who made me feel that way."

Scott pulled away from Mitch abruptly, gently cradling his face in his hands so he could look directly into his eyes. "Well you shouldn't feel that way, no matter who put those thoughts in your head," he told him. His voice was stern but still soft. "Not only are you good enough for Blake, you're too good for him. You're too good for most people."

Mitch cast his eyes downwards. "You have to say that, you're my best friend."

This was why he didn't like to broadcast his insecurities even to his friends – they'd always just end up lying to him to make him feel better.

"I don't have to say that. I mean it, that's why I'm your best friend. I love you and think you deserve the entire world," Scott told him.

Mitch wanted to ask Scott why he wasn't in love with him, if he actually thought that. But he forced himself to bite his tongue. "Well. Thank you," he replied instead. "That means a lot to me."

"Of course, Mitch. I really do feel that way. And I'm sorry again."

Mitch shook his head. "Don't be. Let's just forget everything, okay? There's no point in us dwelling on a dumb misunderstanding."

Scott smiled just a little. "Yeah. I agree," he replied. He slowly let go of Mitch's face, dropping his hands down onto his lap. "I guess we should be glad that we already filled our 'one argument a year' quota in January. Now we don't have to worry about having another fight until next year."

Mitch found himself laughing softly, resting his head on Scott's shoulder. "Leave it to you to always see the bright side of things," he teased.

—

According to Lucas, a later performance slot was always desired in ICCA competitions. It gave your group a better chance to win, apparently because your performance would be fresh on the judge's minds when they chose the winner.

For that reason, all of CalTones were thrilled when they drew the number nine for their slot, meaning that they were going second to last.

But it was later into the night now and Mitch was feeling a lot less thrilled about it. A later performance slot might mean a better chance of them winning, but it also meant that they had to wait even longer to go on stage. Which gave Mitch plenty of time to get into his head thinking about all of the things that could go wrong.

He was currently sat in a chair by himself backstage as they waited for their turn, fiddling with the hem of his sleeve and looking around the tiny dressing room they'd been shoved into to distract himself.

Everyone but him was busy with various different activities, whether it be vocals warm ups, finishing touches on their makeup, or something else. For example, Blake was sat across the room in front of the mirror, doing his best to tame his wild blond curls into something a little more professional.

Meanwhile, Mitch's other favorite blond stood with Lucas, chatting up a storm with him. He didn't have to question the behavior anymore; he knew now that Scott was just trying to keep Lucas calm. Which was probably quite necessary considering Lucas' tense body language.

Thankfully for Mitch, Blake and Scott had reconciled that morning. The three of them had driven to the venue together and Blake had taken the opportunity to apologize profusely to Scott for pushing him.

To Mitch's surprise, Scott had apologized to Blake right back for assuming that he'd been cheating.

It had been an extremely awkward exchange, and the two of them had only talked to him instead of each other the rest of the car ride. But still, Mitch was pleased with the progress they'd made for now. Hopefully in time they'd actually become friends.

Mitch moved his eyes away from Scott and Lucas onto someone else. His gaze found Kyle, who was standing alone and continually practicing a certain high note over and over again.

Mitch was pretty sure he wasn't going to have any voice left by the time they actually got on stage if he kept practicing like that, but he didn't want to be the one to say something and come across as bitter.

His eyes then moved onto the next person: Jasmine.

Who was walking straight over in his direction.

"Nervous?" she asked as she sat down beside him. Her warm and kind voice was definitely a soothing thing to hear.

Mitch smiled sheepishly. "Nervous is an understatement," he admitted. Even though he didn't have a solo, every part was important when it came to a cappella. If he messed up he'd throw everyone off and the thought of that was terrifying.

Jasmine laughed softly. "Don't worry, hun. You're gonna do fine. You've been one of the most consistent members of the group throughout all of our rehearsals," she promised. "Besides, I'll let you in on a secret: it's mean of me to say, but all of the competition at quarterfinals is usually really bad," she told him in a stage whisper. "Not once in the past ten years have CalTones not made it to semis."

Mitch raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

Jasmine nodded. "There's usually only one other group we ever have to worry about, which doesn't even matter since both first and second place advance to semis. Trust me, the real competition doesn't start until semifinals."

"That's good to know," Mitch replied. He could already feel himself starting to relax. "I think Lucas would beg to differ, though," he added, gesturing over to him.

Jasmine followed Mitch's gaze and giggled again at the sight of how stressed he seemed, even with Scott's ridiculous attempts at distraction. "I've never met a bigger stress-case than Lucas," she said. "He's just really passionate about the group, takes the whole president thing real seriously. I'm pretty sure that Scott and I are the only ones who can tolerate his shit."

It was Mitch's turn to laugh lightly. "I've noticed."

"He's really sweet when you get to know him, though. He just doesn't let many people get to know him. But I love the guy."

The statement was hard for Mitch to comprehend. He only knew Lucas as the anal retentive and way too strict president of CalTones, or as Scott's perfect ex boyfriend who still made him insecure. To think of him as an actual, sympathetic human being who had friends and loved ones was... odd.

It was even more odd to think that someone as chill as Jasmine would love him.

But he knew it had to be true. Scott had dated him for around nine months, and although they had eventually ended up breaking up because of how intense Lucas could be, he still obviously must've saw something in him at least in the beginning of the relationship.

Mitch didn't get it and probably never would. But logically, he did know that Lucas probably wasn't really as horrible as he was in his own brain.

"I'm not surprised that you're one of the people he gets along with. I think it's impossible for anyone to not love you," Mitch joked lightly, turning to conversation around onto her so he wouldn't have to talk about Lucas anymore. "You look gorgeous tonight, by the way."

Jasmine flipped her long, braided hair over her shoulder. "Who, me?" she replied playfully. "Thank you. You're looking rather handsome yourself, Blake's a lucky guy," she added.

Mitch felt himself blushing, his eyes wandering back over in Blake's direction. "I'm the lucky one," he assured her. "But thank you."

—

Mitch's heart was beating a mile a minute as he stood on stage with the rest of CalTones, uncomfortable under both the bright, hot stage lights shining on them and under the gaze of the audience.

Their performance had already came and went, as well as the performance of the last group. They were now standing on stage with all ten groups awaiting their fate.

Despite Jasmine's reassurance earlier, Mitch was still on edge. Their performance had gone fairly well, and had been generally well received by the audience – especially Dog Days, which the audience went wild for.

But there had been a few parts where they'd messed up a bit and crowd reaction had been pretty dull, specifically during their opening song.

Mitch knew for sure that the group that had gone just before them had gotten more applause, and if the judges agreed with the audience and liked even just one more group better than them as well, then they were done for.

They were almost done with the special award portion now – it was tradition at every ICCA competition to give away awards to specific people for best choreography, best arrangement, and best soloist.

So far neither of the first two had been awarded to people in CalTones, which was doing nothing to ease Mitch's fears.

"Everyone, let's give another round of applause for our winner of best arrangement," the emcee requested.

Mitch took a deep breath as he politely clapped again. He was already bracing himself for yet another group to be rewarded and their future in the competition to be crushed.

"Our final special award for best soloist goes to... Scott Hoying of CalTones for Dog Days Are Over!"

Mitch's eyes went wide the second the words reached his ears. He gasped, turning his body to look at Scott who stood beside him. "You won!" he stated the obvious, his enthusiastic words joining in with the cheers of the rest of the CalTones around them.

For a moment, the nerves he felt were replaced entirely with pride. There was no amount of anxiety that could stop Mitch from beaming at the genuine shock followed by complete joy that overtook Scott's face.

He absolutely deserved the award. Scott had spent so much time rehearsing and perfecting his vocals, and although Mitch had heard it a billion times by now he still got chills every single time. It was always a struggle trying to remember his background part and choreography for the song when Scott sounded so good.

Even if CalTones didn't win, Mitch would still go home content tonight knowing that Scott's talent was recognized.

Mitch could practically feel his eyes sparkling as he watched Scott cross the stage to accept his award. When the emcee requested more applause he instantly obliged, giving him a loud cheer as well.

He made sure to wrap Scott up in a tight hug as soon as he returned to the group. "You deserve this so much," he gushed into his ear.

Scott laughed softly. "Thanks, Mitchy."

"Now it's time to announce our top three overall finalists," the emcee interrupted.

Mitch felt his enthusiasm fade slightly at the words. He pulled away from the hug and returned to his position standing in between Scott and Blake, taking both of their hands.

After what seemed like a year long silence, the emcee finally spoke up again. "In third place, we have CU's Men of Harmony!"

Mitch could hear several people gasping around him. He gripped both hands a little tighter.

This was it. Either they had second or first place and they were going to semifinals, or they didn't place at all.

Mitch watched with bated breath as the third place team dejectedly crossed the stage to accept their award. Once they finally disappeared backstage he squeezed his eyes shut.

"In second place, advancing to the semifinals is... USC's CalTones!"

For the second time cheers erupted around Mitch. His eyes shot open and his face once again broke out into a grin; following behind his excited teammates as they went to go accept their award.

It wasn't until after they went backstage that it actually began to sink in.

"We're going to semifinals!" Jasmine screamed in excitement, jumping up and down.

Everyone else joined in on the celebration, Mitch included. He exchanged hugs and 'congratulations' with everyone, feeling on top of the world.

The only person standing stoic was Lucas.

"We shouldn't be celebrating so aggressively just yet," he pointed out. "The fact that we only got second at quarterfinals is pathetic. We won't stand a chance at semis unless we make some major changes to our set after the judges give us their notes."

Jasmine rolled her eyes and swung her arm around Lucas' shoulders. "Relax, party pooper. We can worry about that later. For now let's just celebrate the fact that we actually made it to semifinals."

Several more people in the group cheered at the reminder, and even Lucas managed to smile just a little. "Alright, alright. I'm proud of the hard work you put in, guys," Lucas relented, his voice sounding genuine. "And congratulations to Scott for winning best soloist."

More cheers. Mitch turned to look at Scott, not at all bothering to try to tone back his fondness for him like he usually would.

"Thanks, y'all," Scott laughed happily in response to the slew of congratulations he was given. "I thought I screwed up, too. I was totally out of breath on the bridge."

Mitch scoffed. "Shut up. You were perfect, Scott. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it was some of the best singing I've ever heard."

He was quite pleased to hear multiple people chiming in with their agreement to his statement – especially considering the way Scott reacted to it.

There was nothing better than seeing Scott get the appreciation he deserved.

Moments later Mitch felt an arm wrapping around his waist – his face lighting up even more as he looked over to see Blake. He wrapped both of his own arms around him in return, pressing his face into Blake's shoulder and just smiling.

He was absolutely filled with pride. He loved singing in CalTones and he loved the members of the group even more; it felt so good for all of them to be validated.

Sure, they may have only gotten second place. But they were going to semifinals. That alone was enough reason to celebrate.

Maybe Lucas was disappointed in the result, but Mitch definitely wasn't.

—

The next CalTones meeting came just a week after quarterfinals.

Mitch and Scott were the last ones to arrive this time; Lucas began to speak pretty much the second they joined the rest of the group.

"So. We've gotten our notes from the quarterfinal judges," Lucas began. "After reading them over, Jasmine and I have made the joint decision to make some major changes to our set. Starting with cutting Just the Way You Are."

Mitch's eyes widened at the news. He thought it was a wise choice, but he still hadn't expected it to actually be cut. He turned his head to look at Kyle almost instantly, finding him looking even more shocked than he was.

"This is no offense to you, Kyle, and you're more than welcome to audition for the song we're replacing it with. But according to the judges, even though they liked us opening with a slow song they thought the arrangement was 'lacklustre' and 'poorly done'."

Mitch could tell that Lucas seemed fairly bitter as he quoted their words. He, however, agreed. With the subdued audience reaction during the actual performance and now the judge's comments, it was good to know that his own feelings on the arrangement weren't just based on jealousy after all.

"It makes sense; that was the last song we had left to arrange and we got it done in a rush," Jasmine explained. "So we've chosen a new song and we spent a lot more time arranging it this time."

Mitch watched as she began to pass out a new set of sheet music. He looked down at the paper when he finally received one, perking up at the song title.

"We've arranged the song The Only Exception by Paramore as a duet," Jasmine told everyone. "That was another complaint – not enough variation with vocalists and not enough emotion besides Dog Days." Mitch could see Lucas roll his eyes at the criticism. "So we thought that this would be a good replacement."

Personally, Mitch loved the change. Bruno Mars had never been a favorite of his, but he absolutely adored Paramore. No Martin choir party had ever been complete without Misery Business being played on full blast while they all thrashed around together.

But knowing that he hadn't gotten the solo the first time he auditioned, he was a lot more wary to try out this time. Trying for the hell of it and failing once was one thing, but making a second attempt and failing again was a lot more embarrassing.

"The rest of our changes will be implemented throughout rehearsals. There's nothing else as major, just some updated choreo and a few more tweaks here and there to our other two arrangements," Jasmine told them. "Auditions for the new song are on Friday, and we'll see you guys tomorrow for rehearsals as always."

As the meeting came to an end, Blake instantly turned to look at Mitch. "So, we're definitely auditioning for the duet, right?"

Mitch was slightly caught off guard by the idea. He hadn't even thought of that – but the thought of duetting with Blake was definitely a pleasant one. "I don't know," he replied cautiously. "If Kyle auditions again then odds are that he'll get the solo."

"They're looking for emotion, though. Nothing sells emotion like the real chemistry from actual boyfriends," Blake pointed out. "C'mon, babe. This is our chance for redemption after we both got rejected last time."

Mitch bit his lip. He did have a point – and Blake's enthusiasm was really cute. "Yeah, okay," he agreed finally with a smile. "Let's do it."

Blake grinned. "Good. We're going to get the solos easily and then we're going to steal the show," he replied playfully, leaning in and giving Mitch a kiss.

Mitch still had doubts about that statement, but Blake's charm was nothing if not extremely convincing.