By The Way, I Love You

| Chapter 2 |

 Tristan looked at Miles, who was sitting in the back of their English class. He looked around the classroom. None of his friends were in there. The problem with having a 4.0 was that all of his friends were too stupid to be in any of his classes. Tristan walked into the classroom, going to the back. He slid into the desk next to Miles. Miles didn't look up from his book. Tristan nudged his desk with his foot and Miles looked up at him. "What's up?" Miles asked, closing his book. Tristan smiled at him, his perfect white teeth shining. Miles felt like he could stare at that smile forever. "I thought I'd sit next to my best friend." Tristan replied, looking Miles up and down. Miles chuckled, shaking his head and putting his book in his bag. "Okay, what do you want, Tristan?" He asked. Tristan scoffed. "Nothing! I can't sit next to my best friend?" He asked. Miles sighed. "You can, but I'm not your best friend. I think that's Tyler. We haven't spent any time together since ninth grade, Tristan." Tristan sighed, clicking his tongue against his teeth and looking down. He was right. Tristan had neglected to spend time with Miles, even though Miles was the only TRUE friend that he had. He looked at Miles, who had almost a sad look in his eyes. "Well I've decided to change that. We're friends again." He said. Miles nodded. "Okay." 

"So, what are you doing this Friday?" Tristan asked Miles, who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Uhm...nothing? I think I'm free. I'll probably just work on my college essays." He said. Tristan smiled, shaking his head. "No, you're not. You're going to come to the bonfire." He said. Miles looked at him. "Tristan, I don't do social events." Tristan mocked Miles, leaning forward. "Miles, it's at the beach. Please? It'll be so much fun if you go!" He exclaimed. Miles scoffed. "Yeah, sitting there alone while you sit with your girlfriend and all of the boys on the football team. Getting drunk and high and leaving me to drive your ass home? No thank you." Tristan looked around the classroom. "What? You don't have a girlfriend?" He asked. He was sure that Miles would have a girlfriend, he was definitely handsome and well built. Miles shook his head. The truth was, he wasn't attracted to any of the girls at his school. He wasn't attracted to girls period. He never had been. He hadn't yet realized that he was very not straight, but he was coming to understand it more as he realized that girls never interested him. He looked at Tristan, staring into his green eyes. "Nobody has caught my eye..." He said. Tristan smiled. "I'll get you a date for this Friday. Just wait." 

Tristan walked into his house. Still empty. He went upstairs and laid down on his bed, sighing. He was confused. He hadn't seen his girlfriend very much over the summer, and now he wasn't sure he really loved her. He had spent most of the day with her, but all he could think about was Miles. He didn't know why. Maybe it was the rekindled friendship that had happened in first period. He wasn't sure. But his mind was filled with images of him. He pictured the smile that Miles had given him that morning. The soft way that Miles had spoken to him. Tristan was sure he was going insane, maybe he was so lonely that he was starting to feel...feelings...for Miles. That's what they were, weren't they? Just feelings? Tristan didn't know. He didn't know what was true at all. Not anymore. 

The truth was, Tristan was repressing feelings that he'd had for years. Tristan was never as into girls as he had been led to believe. He was popular, and he had his fair share of girlfriends throughout the years, but none of them were quite important enough to him for him to keep them. He cared about them, but they never appealed to him like he thought they would. Tristan knew that he wasn't into girls - was starting to understand it in his conscious mind and realize that he wasn't attracted to Molly like he used to be. Not since the summer. Not since summer camp. 

It was a warm day at summer camp when Tristan realized that perhaps he wasn't as straight as he thought. He was watching the kids in his cabin as they went swimming in the lake. He was always forced to volunteer as a camp counselor by his mother, and he was starting to enjoy it. The boys were having fun, laughing and pushing each other off of the dock. Tristan had his feet in the lake. He was sitting on the dock and trying to suntan as much as possible before school started back. And then another counselor, a boy about a year older than him, walked by. His shorts were shorter than most, his shirt was tight on his muscular frame, and his smile was brighter than the afternoon sun. The boy smiled at Tristan, winked, and walked off with his group. Tristan was determined to know more about him, and almost couldn't control his excitement when he was given a note by a counselor who seemed to be a mutual friend. He met the other boy that night, Ben, and they spent the night together in the lake cabin. He was suddenly very attracted to boys, and girls no longer caught his eye. 

Miles was sure that he was being stupid. He got home, threw his bag into his room, and went downstairs for a snack. His mom was holding the baby and trying to fix a snack for his little brother. Miles took the baby while his mom worked on the snack, and the baby stared at Miles with a knowing look on his face. Miles shook his head at the baby, rolling his eyes and handing him back to his mom. "Weirdo..." He muttered, glancing at the baby as his mom walked out of the room with him. "Did you have a good first day?" His mom, Tara, yelled from the other room. Miles sighed and shut the fridge, standing up and walking into the living room. "Yeah, it was swell." He said sarcastically. Tara swatted his arm, looking up at him. "Miles." She said. Miles smiled. "It was fine, mom. Same as always." She smiled back at him, running her hand over his messy hair. "I told you it'd be fine. Did you make any friends?" She asked. Miles snorted. "I'm not seven, mom. I'm almost eighteen. I have the same friends as always." He replied, rolling his eyes. Tara gave him a look, passing him a basket of laundry. "This is yours. Did you talk to Tristan much today? I saw him earlier, he's grown a lot. He's definitely filled out." Miles shrugged, going towards the stairs with his basket. "Yeah, I saw him. We sit beside each other in first period." He said. His mom smiled. "Good. That's good. I hope you can be friends again..." She said. Miles nodded, smiling slightly as he walked upstairs. Maybe.