When Miles took a seat at the Dot to work on his math assignment, a part of him hoped that Tristan would be there. The extra Kendrick Lamar tickets were still up for grabs and maybe he'd have better luck a second time around. His wish came true, but with a cruel twist of fate: his ex arrived with someone else. A very cute looking someone else. It was a date.
He tried tuning them out, but overhearing Tristan's oh so familiar laughter brought back too many memories. And not just the intimate ones that they made together during their unforgettable spring break and over the course of their relationship. Lunch breaks at Chompy Chicken. After school basketball practices. Even the fun times they shared together at Paris were all but a distant memory, fading away with time. And it was clear that Tristan wasn't even putting up a show. Miles knew very well that the formerly blond boy had a knack for focusing his attention on the person who he was with.
Obviously Miles wasn't over Tristan. And yes, he missed hanging out with him. So much. It was a new reality that he wan't ready to embrace. One without his best friend. But at the same time, he couldn't keep up the charade of being Tristan's ideal guy.
'You're a God among men.'
Miles remembered every detail from the night of the storm that changed everything. But it was that particular line that stuck out. Poor sweet and loveable Tristan. Miles wanted to give him everything, but after all of the family secrets he just couldn't bear to be vulnerable. So he pushed him away. He let him believe that he was in love with Maya. Anything was better than letting him learn the truth: Miles just wasn't good enough for him. He knew Tristan well enough by now to know that he would of done everything in his power to make things better. But like those fake steroids, there's no such thing as a quick fix. So he had no choice but to pull away. Yet he couldn't stand being alone. What he needed was a fling. Something casual. With someone who had just as many problems as him, if not more.
Because Tristan deserved the world and Miles knew he was simply not enough.