By The Way, I Love You

| Chapter 3 |

"Miles!" Miles turned around, seeing Tristan above the crowd. The back to school beach party was in full effect, and Miles wondered why he even came. This was not his scene. Tristan made his way through the crowd, wearing a patterned shirt and a pair of shorts, and Miles remembered why he had come to the beach tonight. Tristan had asked him to. Tristan made his way over to Miles in just a few large strides, coming to stop in front of him and smiling. Miles couldn't help but smile back. "What?" He asked, knowing that look on Tristan's face no matter where he saw it. Tristan grinned at him. "I got your date for the night. She's right over there." 

Tristan pointed and Miles followed his finger, finding the girl in the crowd easily. He knew her. She was in a few of his classes, smarter than he was. She was pretty, her bright blue eyes and blond hair made her look young, but her body belonged to a woman. Her name was Megan, which Miles remembered from earlier that day when she had said hi to him. "Tristan, you really didn't have to do that." Miles sighed, looking up at Tristan. Tristan smirked. "Hey, Daniels!" He yelled. Megan turned around, smiled, said something to her friends - which earned a giggle from all of them- and walked over to the two boys. Tristan smiled at her. "Megan, here is the boy that I promised you for the night." He said, shoving Miles forward. Miles looked back at him threateningly and Tristan winked. Miles looked back at Megan. "Hey, Megan..." He said, smiling at her. She smiled. "Hey Miles. You ever been to a beach party before?" She asked. Miles shook his head. "I'm entirely new to this type of thing, actually. Kind of lame, truly, but it's true." Megan grinned, grabbing his hand and pulling him with her. "I'll give you a tour and commentary." 

Tristan adjusted his arm around his girlfriend's waist, looking over her head. He had a red cup in his hand, and he knew he'd get tipsy soon if he didn't switch to something less potent. Molly was giggling with his best friend, Tyler, and he was pretty positive that she was cheating on him, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. His eyes scanned the crowd until he found Miles. He saw him standing by the cars with Megan. Megan hugged him, kissed his cheek, and walked to her car. Tristan watched Miles wave to her as she pulled away, and he turned back to the crowd. He hesitated, wondering if he should leave, and walked back to the beach, sitting on a log by himself and pulling out his phone. Tristan felt a tug on his shirt and looked down. "Tristan!" Molly yelled, looking up at him. He sighed. "Yes?" He asked. Molly rolled her eyes. "Can we talk?" 

Tristan followed Molly to a more private area. She turned to face him. "I know about this summer." She said. Tristan looked at her, raising his eyebrows. "You know what? I worked all summer and spent my free time with you." He said. She huffed, holding up her phone. He squinted his eyes and looked at her screen. His contacts were beginning to irritate his eyes. He saw a picture of him with Ben from the summer, both of them standing around the campfire and smiling at each other. He'd never smiled at Molly like that before, he'd realized. Molly huffed and put her phone down. "Are you like...gay or something?" She asked. Tristan looked at her. "What? No..." He said, though he didn't even believe himself. She sighed. "So you had a summer boyfriend...wow." She said. He finally looked at her. "Like you weren't hooking up with Tyler behind my back." He replied, staring at her defiantly. She scoffed. "I was not! Tristan, I- we're....I'm not doing this. It's clear you like the other gender more. I'm sorry." She said. Tristan stood his full height, towering over her. "So you're breaking up with me?" He asked. She nodded. "Yes, I am. Bye, Tristan." She turned around. Tristan tried, but he couldn't make himself feel anything. He couldn't feel upset. He couldn't even find it in himself to feel sorry. He sighed and turned around, looking around the crowd. He decided to grab a drink and walked off, leaving an angry ex behind. 

Tristan walked through the crowd, hearing whispers around him and eyes on him. News traveled faster than he thought. He stopped in front of Tyler, Kyle, and Jason, three of his friends on his football team. Tyler smirked and looked at Tristan. All of them were shorter than Tristan, but he still felt small compared to them. "Woah, boys, look at what the cat dragged in." Tyler said, smirking up at Tristan. Tristan rolled his eyes. Tyler looked like such an asshole. Miles looked over and saw Tristan standing with these boys, and he knew that something wasn't right. He watched intently. Tristan stared Tyler down. "What do you want, Tyler?" He asked. Tyler smirked. "So is it true? You're a queer now?" He asked. Tristan glared at him. "Don't use that word." He said. They boys laughed. "Holy shit, he is a queer!" Jason said, laughing and grabbing at Kyle's arm. Kyle shoved him away. "Don't touch me, Jason. It might excite Tristan too much." Jason laughed harder and Tristan glared at them. "You know, that's kind of sick, Stevens. In fact, that's disgusting. You've been watching us change for years in the locker room, and this whole time you've been a fucking fag. I think I'm gonna be sick, dude." Tyler said. Tristan rolled his eyes. "You're so fucking stupid, Tyler. Fuck off." He said. He went to walk past him, only to have Jason stop him. Tristan looked down at the three, glaring at them. "You guys are fucking assholes." He said. He shoved past the boys and walked off, going to sit alone. 

Miles watched Tristan walk away. He waited for the three boys to disperse before following Tristan. He made his way through the crowd, seeing Tristan alone in the dark. He walked over to him, standing a few feet away from the bench that Tristan was sitting on. "Got room for one more over there?" Miles asked. Tristan looked up and nodded, scooting over. Miles sat beside him, settling into the silence. Tristan sighed. "So I guess everyone knows my deep dark secret now, huh?" He asked. Miles looked up at him. "What secret?" He asked. Tristan looked at him, chuckling sarcastically. "I forgot that you weren't friends with the same assholes as I was." Miles furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Tristan's jawline in the dark shadows. "What secret, Tris?" He asked. Tristan had never heard anyone else call him that before, and he looked at Miles with a gentleness in his jade colored eyes. "I'm gay, Miles..." He said. Miles looked up at him. "That's it? That's the secret?" 

Tristan scoffed. "I thought it was a pretty big fucking secret, Miles." Tristan said, looking down at Miles incredulously. Miles grinned back up at him, which caused Tristan to widen his eyes in shock. Miles shrugged. "I thought you were like...dying or something, Tris. Being gay? That's not a deep dark secret. That's really cool, actually. I'm really happy for you." He said, smiling at Tristan. Tristan smiled. "Jeez, Miles. You would be. I mean...it's cool and all I guess, but now everyone knows. My mom didn't even know. Molly outed me to everyone..." He said, locking eyes with Miles. Miles shrugged, his smile softening as he stared at Tristan's face. "You can worry about that later. Is there any special boy in your life or anything?" He asked. 

'You.'  Tristan thought, but he didn't say it. He didn't know if he even cared for Miles like that, or if he was just sad and comforted by him. Tristan sighed, thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "No. Not at the moment." He said. Miles felt his heart drop even though he knew his name wouldn't come out of Tristan's mouth. Tristan was gay, and Miles was gay, but he didn't think Tristan would like him. He knew that Tristan didn't like him like that. Besides, he wasn't even out to anyone yet. He nodded. "That's okay. You'll find someone, won't you?" He asked. Tristan shrugged. "Maybe." He sighed, staring at Miles. Miles looked at his watch, sighing. "It's late. I'm gonna head home." He said. Tristan bit his lip. "I rode with Tyler..." He said, looking out at the crowd. 

Miles stood up, popped his back, and looked down at Tristan. "Come on, Tris. I'll take you home." Tristan grinned and stood up. "I dunno, Miles. I wouldn't want you going out of your way just to take me home." He said. Miles scoffed. "I usually wouldn't, but I guess I'll make an exception. Besides, if I don't, you'll have to walk home in the dark or ride home with someone and I can't leave you in the hands of the irresponsible. You just went through a breakup and I wouldn't want you embarrassing yourself by cry-singing Bruno Mars." He teased Tristan, looking up at him to see what he would do. "I'm gonna beat your ass, Hammond." He said, looking down at Miles. Miles shrugged, taking a few steps backwards. "Only if you can catch me." 

Tristan was strong, but Miles was fast. He beat Tristan to his car, but only barely so. Tristan caught up to him, running to the front of Miles' small Toyota and stopping in front of him. Miles looked up at him, both of them breathing heavily, catching their breath, their chests rising and falling in a rhythm. Tristan smiled at Miles. "You've gotten fast, old pal." He said. Miles looked up at him. "You've just gotten slow, Tristan. And who are you? Jay Gatsby? Shut up." He said. Tristan laughed breathlessly and went around the car, getting into the passenger seat. Miles watched him and finally opened his door, getting into his car. He looked at Tristan, who had steadied his breathing and was staring at Miles with soft eyes, his features outlined by the bright moonlight. Miles smiled, hoping that the darkness would hide his blush, and started the car. Tristan looked at Miles again, staring at his features. "You're really beautiful, Hammond." He said. Miles looked up at Tristan, scoffing. "I think you're drunk. Let's get you home." He said. Tristan shook his head. "I'm completely sober, Miles." He said. Miles looked at Tristan, rolled his eyes, and started the car. "I know you are, Tris. Believe me. I know."