Tradley One Shots

𝟐𝟑. 𝐂 𝐀 𝐍 𝐃 𝐘

"Thanks, have a good day sir." The same sentence over and over again.
Tristan was definitely tired of it but there wasn't something he could do about it exactly since it was the only way for him to earn money to live.
And apart from that, he definitely could think of worse jobs than the one in a small grocery store in New Castle.
"Hello." He greeted the next customer in line and swept the first item over the scanner. It was a package of bandages. The next item was a package of painkillers and a few other medical items followed and a small chocolate bar. Tristan didn't have to look up to know who was standing in front of him.
"That'll be 18,99 ₤." The blonde said before finally lifting his eyes from the items for the first time and meeting the warm brown eyes of the boy in front of him. Tristan knew exactly who that was. The boy came in once a week and bought bandages and other medical stuff along with one piece of candy. He was always covered in bruises and sometimes he even had a black eye or a busted lip. He also always wore the same huge wind jacket in and this time, a small wound on his left eyebrow was bleeding and there was a definite hand print on his cheek. Tristan was snapped out of his staring when a shaky hand held a twenty pound bill in front of his face. "Ah sorry, thanks." He quickly said before giving the boy he liked to call "Curly" because of his curly brown hair, his change. "T-thank you." The boy whispered before sending Tristan a shy smile and limping out of the shop. The blonde watched him sadly before letting out a sigh and starting to scan the items of the next customer.
Days went by and the boy didn't show up in the shop until the next week, just like every single time. This time, he bought bandages, painkillers and a small package of M&M's. Tristan pulled the items over the scanner and placed them down next to him.
"12,56 ₤ please." He said and the boy nodded before starting to search around in his purse. A look of disappointment came onto his face as he placed the purse back into his pocket. "Um s-sorry, I f-forgot my money..." He whispered before nodding apologetically and limping out of the shop quickly making Tristan watch him with a frown.
After contemplating what to do for a few seconds, he got up and quickly followed the boy. "Hey!" He yelled as he spotted the boy a few meters in front of him. The brunette turned around hesitantly and Tristan held up a small bag with the items in it. The curly haired boy looked around confused. "F-for me?" He asked and Tristan nodded with a smile. The boy stepped forwards and grabbed the bag with one of his pale hands wich were shaking once again. "Why are you doing this for me?" The boy cut through the silence making Tristan snap out of his staring. "It looks like you need this desperately." The blonde said and the boy looked down at the bag in his hands. "I-I don't know how to thank you for this, but I will hopefully be able to pay you back next week." He said and Tristan waved it off. "It's fine, you don't have to." He confirmed before using all his courage for the next words. "There's one thing you could to for me though..." The blonde said hesitantly and the boy in front of him titled his head to the side in a silent question.
"Drink a coffee with me." He blurted out and the boys eyes widened in shock before a sadness settled in them that could erase any happiness from the face of earth. "I-I can't... I have a boyfriend." He said softly and Tristan felt a small pang in his chest but he didn't give up. "As friends then. I would like to get to know you."
The blonde tried again, watching the boy while he was thinking. "Um okay. I guess it's the least I can do." He said and Tristan smiled. "Great. When are you free?" The boy in front of him shuffled his feet nervously. "A-actually I'm only free on Tuesday Night. S-so right now." He explained and Tristan nodded. "That's okay, do you want to go right now?" Brad blinked before nodding gently and following Tristan back to the small shop. "Hey Con! Can you cover my shift?" The blonde yelled over to a boy with light brown hair and a piercing on his nose. "Yeah yeah whatever, Evans." The male called back and Tristan grinned before turning to his companion. "Let's go then, I know this really nice Café around the corner."
While walking there, the two were mostly surrounded by silence. It wasn't akward or tense more like the opposite. It was refreshing and a really nice atmosphere. Tristan kept looking over at the boy next to him. He was wearing a blue jacket that was way too large on him and a purple beanie. A scarf was wrapped around his neck and he still looked cold. The two newfound friends arrived at the café and stepped into the warm place. The small room wasn't too crowded but not empty either, it was just right.
Tristan turned to his companion to see him looking around with a gleam in his eyes. "Do you want to sit down? I can order for us." He said and Brad nodded slightly. "I-I'll take water." He said with a small smile and Tristan shook his head with a laugh. "Just because I'm paying doesn't mean you need to drink water. Take a real drink." He said with a soft smile and the brunette blushed slightly. "C-can I have a hot chocolate?" The boy asked and Tristan grinned. "A hot chocolate coming up." He said and Brad smiled before hesitantly walking over to a table in the back and sitting down. A few minutes later Tristan came back with two cups of steaming hot drinks in his hands. "Here you go." He said and placed them down in front of Brad who quickly wrapped his fingers around the cup. "Thank you..." He whispered and stared down at the drink in his hands. The two sat in silence for a while and Tristan just stared at the boy in front of him, finding him overly mysterious and intriguing. "Who hurts you?" The question blurted out of his mouth before he could stop himself and Brad jumped from the sudden noise. He stared at Tristan for a second before getting up. "I-I should go-" He started but Tristan grabbed his wrist and stared deep into his eyes. "I want to help you." He said with determination in his voice and the brunette stared back at him, his bottom lip quivering. Without a second thought Tristan got up and wrapped his arms around the boy. He felt his companion stiffening in his embrace before slowly relaxing and then grabbing the back of Tristans coat in his hands while letting out a small, shaky sigh.
"I-I barely know your name. Why do you want to help me?" Bradley asked the taller boy who shrugged his shoulders. "I think you're intriguing and I've watched you getting hurt without saying anything for too long when you came into the supermarket." Tristan explained and Brad bit his lip. The two sat down again and Brad was visibly shaking from nerves. He was fiddling with hsi fingers and looking around nervously. "Brad, I only want to help you." Tristan said and the brunette nodded gently before taking in a deep breath.
"I-I guess it's better to talk to a stranger about this..." He mumbled and bit his lip. "Back in High school I had this huge on crush on one of the quarterbacks of our football team, his name was Ashton... I was a nobody though, I was bullied for being gay. Prom came around the corner and to everyone's surprise Ashton asked me to be his date and I accepted of course. I knew it was probably a prank but at least I could spend a few hours with him. At prom night he picked me up from my home and drove me to the school. We danced and had a lot of fun, he got pronounced prom king and I was so happy for him. About a week later he asked me to be his boyfriend and I said yes. He was... Very possessive but I thought it was just his way of showing his love for me. We moved in together as soon as college started and I was so happy. But then he began to change. I had a curfew and he would punish me if I came in late. He was very over protective and would get jealous about the smallest things. One day, I came home late from work and he hit me for the first time out of anger. He said it was to teach me a lesson and put me in my place and I thought he was right... I told myself I deserved it. He began to hit me regularly, worse than before but it was always for a reason. Me being out too late or not cooking dinner, anything like that. I told myself he was just being protective, I told myself he loved me... I'm still living with him, I'm too scared to move out. He goes to work every Tuesday and mostly stays late so that's why I always go out to buy stuff at that time." Tristan listened to every last bit of Bradleys sad story and stayed silent for a moment at the end. "I would never understand what you went through, just know that I am honestly sorry that you had to." He said calmly and Brad shrugged. "I-it's not your fault, you're the first one wanting to help me." He whispered and Tristan nodded sadly. "Why haven't you called the police? We could go there right-" Tristan was interrupted by Brad who looked shaked up. "No no no, don't involve the police. I don't want to go to court, he will kill me."
He said, almost begging the male in front of him who sighed. "When is he going to be home?" The blonde asked and Brad looked at the watch around his wrist. "In about two hours." He said and the older male nodded before getting up making Brad look up at him with questing eyes. "Let's go on an adventure." Tristan didn't wait for Brad's answer and just walked out of the café. The younger boy quickly stumbled behind him and catched up with him. "What's going on? Where are we going?" He asked and Tristan just smiled. "You'll see." The older boy lead his companion to his car, Brad was hesitant to go in but he did so anyway. What did he have to lose?
The two drove for about ten minutes in wich slow music was playing in the small car. Tristan watched Brad relax next to him and he couldn't help but smile. All he ever wanted was for the boy to trust him and it looked like he had almonds succeeded in doing so.
The brunette watched the houses pass by outside and suddenly realized that they were leaving town. Panic spread through his body. What if he was in the car with a serial killer? He barely knew the boys name, how could he just get into his car? There was just something about him that made him look so trust worthy. "It's okay," He suddenly heard Tristans voice say and he looked over at him. "I'm not going to hurt you." Brad relaxed slightly but couldn't help but feel a bit on edge. The car soon came to a stop. "We're here." The blonde said softly and the younger boy looked around nervously, forming an escape plan in his head. He looked over at Tristan with a fake smile and opened his car door. Would I be able to outrun him? I'm way smaller than him and he has long legs, he also looks pretty well trained. But what else am I supposed to do? Brad thought to himself as he suddenly heard the deck lid click open. He's distracted. He thought and without wasting another second, he started running. A yell of his name was heard above his heavy breathing but he didn't stop, he got even faster. He came upon a row of trees and bushes wich towed up in front of him like a wall. The young male squeezed himself through and his breath caught in his throat as soon as he looked up.
In front of him was a huge waterfall that was rushing down a small mountain, flooding into a pond on the bottom. It was beautiful. "You like it?"
He heard a voice behind him wich made the younger boy jump. Tristan was standing behind him with a small smile on his lips. Guilt rushed over Brad and he looked down in shame. "I'm so sorry, I thought you-" He was cut off by Tristan shaking his head.
"It's okay. I know you've been through a lot, I'm not here to judge you." The male said and Brad looked up at him in awe. "Now let's sit down, shall we?"
After a second of not replying, Bradley nodded quickly and followed Tristan down to the pond. They sat down on the stone and watched the water rushing down the mountain.
The brunette took in a breath and took in his surroundings. It was a beautiful scenery and he felt completely at ease, something he hadn't felt in a while. "Okay," Tristan suddenly said and got up, pulling his shirt over his head. "I'm gonna go for a swim. Are you with me?" He asked and Brad let a smile brush his lips before it was replaced with a frown as he remembered all the ugly bruises and scars all over his body. "Um no, I'll just watch you from here." He said and smiled nervously. Tristan let out sigh before pulling down his pants and jumping into the water wearing nothing but his boxers. He resurfaced and took in a breath smiling over at Brad who was watching him. "The water is perfect!" Tristan yelled and swam around a bit. The brunette played with the hem of his shirt and sent a fake smile towards Tristan. "Why don't you leave on your shirt and come in?" Tristan suggested and Brad titled his head to the side. "I don't have anything to wear besides this shirt." He said and the blonde swam over to him. "I have a spare hoodie in my car, you can have it when we get back." He said and Brad swallowed. "N-no thank you, I'll just stay here." He said and continued to nervously play with the hem of his shirt. Tristan smirked and rested his arms on the stone next to the one his companion was sitting on. "You can't swim." He stated and Brad looked over at him in shock with a blush on his face. "I-I can swim!" He stuttered out and Tristans smirk only grew.
"You can't." Brad scoffed and got up.
"I don't have to listen to you making fun of-" In the same moment he suddenly lost his balance and fell into the pond with a loud splash. Tristan quickly shielded his eyes and couldn't help but let out a chuckle when he suddenly noticed that the boy wasn't resurfacing. The blonde immediately swam forward and dove down into the crystal clear water. It took him only a second to see Bradley trashing around in the water and the older male quickly grabbed him and pulled him up with himself. A loud gasp was heard as soon as the two resurfaced and Bradley clung onto Tristan like his life was depending on it. He was breathing heavily and the blonde felt him burying his face into his neck.
"Are you okay?" Tristan asked the shaken up boy who nodded quickly. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thank you."
Tristan pulled him into his arms so the younger boys legs were wrapped around his waist and walked through the water with him to let him calm down. Bradleys ragged breathing soon became even again and he let out a shaky breath and snuggled into his companions embrace. It felt so right to be in his arms, he had never felt so safe and secure. Something inside him urged him to take action so he slowly pulled away from the blonde so his face was directly in front of his. "Brad?" Tristan breathed out as the boys face was only an inch away from his. But before he could say another word, the boys lips were on his. The two moved their lips against each other and Bradley pulled the blonde closer to himself before pulling away. They rested their foreheads against each other and their breathing evened out.
"Save me, Trissy." The brunette suddenly whispered and a smile grew on the blonde's lips. "I will, Brad. I promise." The two got out of the water and Tristan helped his friend out of his wet clothes. "Um- about the kiss... I don't know what came over me there, I've only known you for a few hours you just- you make me feel so..." Brad stopped, trying to find words when Tristan interrupted his thoughts. "Happy?" He asked and the brunette boy looked up at him. "Yeah. Happy."
The two sat in silence for a little while, both still dripping wet.
Suddenly Brad broke the silence.
"D-do you want a candy?" He asked and Tristan looked over at him. He was holding a handful of colorfully wrapped candies in his hand, looking at Tristan shyly. The blonde let out a chuckle and took one, unwrapping it silently. "You buy these at the store right?" He asked softly and Brad nodded. "I chew on them when I... Clean my wounds. It gets painful sometimes." The brunette whispered and the older male let out a breath.
"If only I had known sooner about this." He whispered and closed his eyes tightly. He felt a smaller hand grab his and slowly intertwine their fingers with each other. "As long as you're here now." The brunette whispered with a soft smile and Tristan pulled the boy closer to himself, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He would do anything to save this boy.
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Well, I really don't know what to say about this. If you'd like a part 2 let me know, but it will probably take a while :)

-Tris xx