**A/N I just found this lying around my computer, collecting dust, and I'd thought I'd share it with you all and see what you think of it. Is it too risky? Too unrealistic? Please, leave your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for everything, you guys!

Lend Me Your Wings

Avi had been walking down the street towards the café with Scott when he brought up the subject. "We need another member," he had said out of the blue, interrupting Scott's speech about sports equipment. Scott looked at him, startled. "What?"

"I know why we don't sound as good as we could," Avi explained in more detail. "We need another member to accompany Kirstie and you; a three part harmony. That would make our music sound a lot better than it does at the current moment." Scott furrowed his brow in quiet contemplation before nodding. "That actually makes sense," he laughed. "Good job!" Avi laughed along with him before turning serious again. "We really do need a new member though; we won't be going anywhere without them."

After a serious conversation about a new member and retrieving coffees, they exited the warm café and into the bitter winter chill. "We should probably go through YouTube before sending out an advertisement," Avi planned out as they passed an alleyway. "That way we can—" a small whimper from the alleyway interrupted him, echoing in against the stone walls. Avi and Scott exchanged one look before moving towards the sound.

Somewhere in the back of the alleyway they found a young man splayed out in the middle of the alley, beaten and bloody and somewhere along the brink of unconsciousness. He looked to be around nineteen or twenty, with black hair and a thin figure. When Avi and Scott reached him they felt worry bloom in their stomachs at the sight of his injuries.

"Are you alright?" Scott flinched at the stupidity of his question.

The young man shook his head slightly. Avi shot him a look that clearly said shut up.

"What's your name?" Scott asked, kneeling down at his side. "Mitch," the young man whispered shakily. "Alright, Mitch, where do you live?" Mitch shook his head violently, fear flooding his features.

Avi understood immediately; Mitch had obviously been abused. "We'll just take you to his house, alright?" Avi told him, only to find that Mitch had fallen unconscious. Scott picked him up, frowning at the unusual light weight. They ignored all of the weird looks they got on the way home.

Scott was already sick with worry as they lied Mitch down on his couch, feeling as if he had known him his entire life, instead of just fifteen minutes of being near him. He nervously felt Mitch's forehead. It was burning. "Avi!" he called for his friend, who was currently in the kitchen. "He's got a fever!" Avi rushed in moments later with a cool hand towel, laying it on Mitch's forehead. The young man sighed at the touch in his unconscious state.

"We need to get him home," Scott told Avi quietly.

"No, we can't."

"Why not?"

"He's obviously been abused, Scott. Look at the finger shaped bruises around his neck; someone tried to choke him. He has bruises all over him that look like large fists; I'm going to assume that his father or a boyfriend of some sort has been abusing him."

Scott raised his eyebrows. "And since when did you become Sherlock Holmes?" Neither of them laughed at the attempt at humor. Scott felt about one million questions bubbling up inside him.

"Why'd you think he was abused?" he asked, unable to contain his curiosity. "I don't know," Avi pressed his face into his hands. Scott felt like doing the same. They sat in silence for a few moments until Avi spoke suddenly. "I just don't understand why he was abused at all; why be that cruel?" Avi's voice was muffled under his hands, but the sudden sound made Scott jump slightly.

"I don't know Avi," he said, staring at Mitch sadly. "I honestly don't know."

Kirstie whistled as she plucked a head of lettuce from the dewy basket, adding it to her growing collection of vegetables to buy. Glancing around, she picked out two onions from the selection, and then proceeded to juggle them. Wow, she thought as her eyebrows knitted together in concentration. I'm getting kinda good at this. As soon as the thought flitted through her mind, Ke$ha's 'I Kissed a Girl' blared out from her back pocket, the sudden noise causing her to drop the veggies.

"Argh!" she growled, fishing her phone out of her pocket. "This had better be good." She glanced at the screen and sighed, raising the device up to her ear. "What do you want, Kevin?"

"That's no way to greet a friend."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. What's the problem?"

"Do you know where Avi and Scott are? They've been gone for seven hours now."

Kirstie frowned. "No, but I can call Avi?" she raised her voice in question, unsure of what to do.

"That'd be great. Call me back after you do, okay?"

"Alright. See ya."

"See you."

As soon as they hung up, Kirstie dialed Avi at the speed of light. He picked up around the fourth ring. "Hello?" he sound impatient and… worried?

"Hey. What's up? Kevin's worried. Is something wrong?" When Avi explained the situation quickly, Kirstie nearly dropped her phone in shock. "I'm coming over."

"Whatever. I need to get back to Mitch anyway. Bye."

And with that, he hung up. Kirstie raced to her car, leaving the bag of vegetables in the grocery section for the workers to find, and calling Kevin simultaneously.

Kevin stared at the phone in shock when Kirstie hung up, already feeling worry for someone he didn't even know. After a few moments, he shook out of his daze, and then proceeded to run to his car. He sped all the way to Scott's apartment, feeling incredibly lucky that he wasn't caught.

When he was finally outside Scott's door, he resisted the urge to barge in; instead, he knocked politely. If hammering rapidly on the wood counts as polite. Kirstie opened the door and ushered him inside. "Mitch is over there," she whispered. Kevin wondered briefly why she was talking so quietly, before going over to where the unconscious young man lay.

The sight of seeing someone so beat up and bloody made Kevin want to puke, but the feeling was eased when he saw how gentle Scott was with him. He watched as Scott carefully placed a cool towel on Mitch's forehead, and marveled at how every once in a while Scott would rearrange the blankets around Mitch.

Kevin finally approached the three. "Is he going to be alright?" Scott nodded, not taking his eyes off of Mitch. "Of course," he said quietly. "Kirstie is going to go ask the doctor if he can come here and take a look at him." Kevin turned around to look at Kirstie, only to notice that she was already gone. "Alright."

"He's going to be fine," Scott reassured Kevin, more to himself than to the beat-boxer. He let his thoughts wander as he adjusted Mitch's blankets.

The young man was admittedly rather attractive, even in his beaten up state. Of course, Scott wasn't attracted to him; he was just noting that he was good looking.

Of course you aren't. A small voice in the back of Scott's head said sarcastically.

Scott mentally frowned. But, I only know his name. I don't know anything else about him.

The small voice sighed. Maybe something's different with him. Something special. Scott shifted uncomfortably. I dunno…. He was slowly but surely convincing himself that he was attracted to this man, arguing with himself over it.

He sighed as he fought off the urge to kiss Mitch's forehead. This was going to be difficult to hide.