"She's right you know."
Tristan and Zoe both start at the sound, standing as they turn towards the source.
Miles begins to approach the pair, but stops short at the look on Tristan's face, not daring to come any closer.
"How much of that did you hear?" Tristan asks, not really wanting to know the answer.
"Enough to know we need to talk." Miles says, and Tristan is grateful that his already red face can't reveal the flush of embarrassment he feels, knowing Miles had witnessed him being so pathetic.
"Well I don't want to talk to you." Tristan replies, throwing Miles a practiced glare.
Undeterred, Miles steps forward again seemingly more determined. "You don't have to talk to me, but you should at least listen to what I have to say."
"That's rich coming from you." Tristan scoffs.
"I don't recall you being so big on speech the last time I tried talking to you" he adds, sounding bitter.
Miles doesn't respond to the accusation, and Zoe looks awkwardly between the two before taking a hold of Tristan's arm.
"Come on Tris. Let's just go" she says, and Tristan doesn't hesitate, turning from Miles to walk away.
"I don't have feelings for Maya." Miles admits suddenly. It's rushed, and almost too loud, but it's enough to make Tristan stop and turn back.
"What?" Tristan asks, confused by his confession.
Miles moves forward again, closing the distance between them and repeating his words more clearly this time. "I don't have feelings for Maya."
"But you said-"
"No." Miles replies, cutting Tristan off. "You said. I just... let you believe it." He adds, looking guilty.
"Why?" Tristan asks, unable to stop himself.
"That's what I want to talk to you about. Can we just... can we talk alone?" Miles asks. "Please?"
Zoe looks at Tristan worriedly, wordlessly asking what he wants to do.
"Its okay Zoe. I'll find you after." Tristan says, answering her unvoiced question.
Zoe complies, throwing Miles a look of warning before heading towards the exit backstage.
As soon as she is out of sight, Tristan turns back to face Miles, crossing his arms in front of himself. "I'm listening."
Miles is staring at the floor now, looking decidedly less confident than he had moments ago. "I don't know where to start" he admits.
"Why don't you try from the beginning."
"Yeah. Okay." Miles replies, taking a deep breath.
"So you remember when I outed us in that newspaper article?.."
Tristan nods, and then he listens. He listens as Miles tells him everything. About what happened with his dad and the painting, about the hit and run with Maya, about his dad hitting him, and even about the school fire.
"And that's all of it. So now you know everything" he says, when he's finally done, looking at Tristan slightly terrified.
Tristan eyes him warily, still distrustful. "Why are you telling me all of this now?"
Miles looks down again guiltily, but responds in truth. "Honestly I never intended to tell you any of it, I didn't want to drag you into my mess. But I heard what you said to Zoe about Yates... and me, and I don't want you to think I'm anything like him."
Moving closer, Miles bridges the final gap between them, reaching out to grab a hold of both of Tristan's hands.
"Tris, I- I love you." He says, staring at Tristan earnestly and linking their fingers.
Tristan doesn't respond, but he doesn't pull away either as Miles continues to speak.
"I am so sorry that I hurt you, and I know I have no right to ask... but do you think you can forgive me?" He says, looking terrified once more.
Tristan watches him intently, unmoving and seemingly unaffected, until more than a minute has passed without a reply.
Dejected, Miles releases a shaky breath, nodding sadly and letting go of Tristan's hands.
Just as he turns to leave, Tristan grabs his arm and pulls him back, crashing their lips together as he kisses Miles hard. It starts as a mess of bruised lips and teeth clashing almost painfully, but then they're angling to deepen the kiss in a way that's all soft tongue strokes and gentle suction, evoking that deep ache inside for something more.
Starved for air, they break apart, both flushed and breathing heavily when Tristan finally admits "I love you too, dummy."
His confession elicits a genuine smile from Miles, and he's looking at Tristan almost gleefully when he asks "Does that mean I'm forgiven?"
"It means I'm giving you a chance to make it up to me." Tristan says, trying to be stern.
"Don't blow it this time." He adds, only half joking.
"I won't. I promise." Miles says confidently, pressing another kiss to Tristan's lips.
Tristan doesn't look as convinced, giving a small smile in return, before yielding to Miles' attack on his lips.
