Tristan opened the front door to his house that Monday morning. He needed better lighting for the mirror than the light bulbs could give off. For some reason he felt he needed to look his best today. The platinum blonde stared into the mirror, so distracted dabbing cologne on his Adam's apple he hadn't noticed Miles in his doorway... starring at him.
"Prepping for OomfChat? Sorry, Tris... but power cheer isn't going to let you join no matter how much money you raise them." Miles teased.
Tristan jumped in his skin, shocked that Miles was there. He was also feeling guilty even though no such pictures were going to be taken. He tried to play off his demeanor as unamused. "Hardy har-har, how comic! I'm so over power cheer. This is professional. This is schoolwork"
Miles tossed the keys to his expensive car into the air "I'll drive you. I'm saving you from walking a mile in your expensive shoes... you can thank me at the red lights." Miles teased sexually but Tristan was so preoccupied it went over his head.
"I'm not going to Degrassi today" Tristan announced matter of factly which confused Miles. "But... you said you dressed for school"
"Yes, but not our school. An old, eh, friend of mine... is trying to get a job at a school in the area... and he needs me to speak a few words so he can land this job. I'm super late though!" With that Tristan grabbed his coat and flew out the front door. Now pacing down the street, walking fast to lose Miles behind.
"Tristan, look! I can drive you wherever you want. I'm not really in the mood to sit through classes full of judgy pricks either."
Tristan walked faster and looked forward. "This isn't about ditching. This is about helping out my teacher-friend"
"Teacher-friend? Your friend is a teacher?" Miles tone went from curious to questioning. "Since when does a school ask a job reference from a teenager? How old is your friend if he can be teaching?
Tris stopped in the middle of the street and threw his hands into the air. "Whoa, stop with the bazillion questions! What are you... my over-protective brother?"
"No! I'm your over-protective boyfriend. Look, Tris, you think I want to be this way? If you weren't so naïve I wouldn't have to look out for you this bad. You ran off in a foreign country, and ran out into a dangerous storm and you did mistake grooming for "love"
Tristan shot his boyfriend the coldest, most mean look he could muster which let Miles know he hit a nerve. Miles dropped his jaw and nothing came out as he put two and two together.
Tristan really didn't want to put Grant Yates business out in the open. It was like pulling teeth to get him to open up about this. Tristan had always felt defensive about the topic. Grant was pretty much cleared. The school board was willing to transfer his teaching job to Lakehurst if the Detective didn't find anything conflicting in Tristan Milligan's statement. Grant had asked Tristan to stop by the apartment to compare stories.
Miles felt powerless... but he knew he'd think up a crazy scheme if he had more time. He knew exactly who Tristan was going to see but pretended it went over his head as Tristan had assumed it did. "Alright. I'll catch up with you later."
