How to Save a Life

Standard Disclaimers Apply.

Wow...just...wow. I had no idea that people would like this little teaser so much! 13 reviews; you all rock! I'd also like to thank all my readers, I can only hope that you're enjoying this too. And here are the reviewer responses:

drlve

I'm glad you enjoyed the teaser and my writing style as well. Comments like that help me feel good about writing in general and not just that story

Tonje

I will continue it and it's all thanks to reviewers like you! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!!

GiLmOrEgIrL129

I'm not sure if your review of "or not" was a question of whether I was continuing "or not" or if you were sarcastically telling me not to bother continuing this...

tiffanyco

Aww...thank you. It's good to know that you like it and think it's "beautifully written". We writers do like to know that our writing is comprehensible as well as good subject-wise. Air of mystery you say? Cool. I was hoping to make readers curious. Thank you!

whatthehalo08

Intrigued? It doesn't happen often? Cool! Well, not that so many fics bore you, but that mine managed to capture some of that elusive interest of yours! Thank you!!

kayla

I'm glad you liked it. Thanks!

Mel

I'm glad you think my story "works quite well". Thanks for the encouragement, I will go for it! Thanks for the wishes of luck, I'll be needing it for my muses...

living-in-harmony

Hm...I'm afraid I can't tell you what exactly is going on with Tristan. You'll find out bit by bit though. Unfortunately, I won't "officially" be starting up this fic until my first one, "I Don't Want to Be" is finished, or close to finished. Thanks for the review!

Curley-Q

Oooo, more curiosity! Wonderful! Thanks for the review!

allison

And you will eventually find out! Thanks for the review!

Elliotlvu

Can't tell you what's wrong yet, but I can tell you that he wasn't supposed to do anything more than go straight home. He just didn't want to go home. At all really. Anyway, I most certainly will be continuing this as long as you reviewers want me to.

Naberrie Skyler

More and more curiosity! Excellent. Thank you!

LoVe23

I'm glad it looks good to you so far. Ah, you're the first reviewer to make a comment on Mira. Very perceptive... Thank you for the review!

------- … scene change/break

Flashback…flashback start

End…flashback end

Italics … thoughts

Bold … emphasis

How to Save a Life: Chapter 1: Bad Day

Tristan pressed the button that would lock his car and stopped short of his house.

DuGrey Manor.

That's what people called it. Tristan referred to it as Arctic Manor. Why? Because that's what it felt like when he stepped beyond its threshold. It felt cold and empty, just like the Arctic – not that he'd ever really been there. But I bet there's a house with our name on it just the same, he thought bitterly.

He stared dully at it, not wanting to go in there. It was late and he'd been driving for a while. He took the longest 'scenic' route he could reasonably consider. At the time, it had seemed like a great idea. He didn't want to go home, so his brain concluded that that was a good way to avoid doing so.

But now…now it didn't seem like such a good idea. He entered warily, heart pounding.

This is like a really bad movie, he reflected as he crept up the stairs. However, he allowed himself to think otherwise as reached the top of the ridiculously long staircase.

Stupid.

"Tristan."

Ah, his father. It amazed him how he didn't have to yell in order for him to hear. Probably due to the emptiness. Emptiness is conducive to echoing and carrying voices farther than they would normally go...

"Tristan."

Ooo…emphasis. These thoughts were obviously taking away precious seconds of his father's time. As he descended the stairs, bookbag left at the top of the stairs, Tristan did his best to keep the dread out of him.

It wasn't working.

"Coffee," came the plaintive demand.

Luke gave Rory his customary frown. He started to refuse, but caught sight of the too eager expression on the face of Rory's companion and decided it wasn't worth it. Grumbling about death wishes, he poured two large mugs of coffee, knowing they'd be empty soon.

Rory closed her eyes in savoring her liquid salvation. "Mmm…" There was a shared silence as she and her mother reveled in that initial sip, okay, gulp of coffee.

That silence lasted all of three seconds.

"So kiddo, how was the torture today?"

"No torture, just…weirdness."

Lorelai 'hmm'ed. "Weirdness? Like our weirdness or Kirk's weirdness?"

Rory snorted lightly. "There is no comparison to Kirk's weirdness."

"True enough, so maybe it'd be better for you to describe the weirdness. That way it can be labeled properly."

Rory launched into a description of her day. It started out normal, and then there was Tristan's return, the endless chatter concerning him, the lack of interaction with her torturer thing, and Paris being…Paris, but less so today. "…so, it was weird."

Lorelai stared at her daughter for a moment before saying anything. "I'm failing to see the weirdness. Aside from Paris' lack of intensity and the return of the Evil One…this should be a good day for you."

Her mother was right. This should have been a good day. A great day even. Dean had greeted her with a happy kiss when she had stepped off the bus; they had a date this weekend. Tristan was back, but he hadn't bothered her at all. Paris hadn't given her a hard time today. It should have been perfect. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right."

"You are not."

"Am so."

"Are not."

"Am so."

"Are not."

"Am so."

"Are not."

"Am so."

"Are not. Need I remind you of the time you thought Kirk would be perfectly fine jumping off that roof if he had a cape?"

"That was a theory – no one told him to do that!"

"You paid him!" Rory countered while pointing a finger accusingly at her mother.

Lorelai 'hmph'ed, downing another cup of coffee. "It was only ten bucks. Who jumps off a roof, with only a cape, for ten bucks?"

There was a silence as Rory contemplated this. "Umbrella?"

Lorelai nodded. "Definitely."

They shifted to see Luke giving them a very odd look, as if he was considering shipping them off to the nearest mental facility to get their heads examined. "Was I supposed to follow any of that?"

"No, not really," Lorelai said.

Luke just shook his head. He'd actually being doing pretty well until the umbrella comment threw him off. New record, he noted mentally.

"But it'd be great if you did."

"You could be an honorary Gilmore!" Lorelai exclaimed.

Rory looked at her, confused and surprised. "Really? We do that?"

"We do."

"Do what?"

"Do that."

"Umm…"

"The honorary Gilmore thing."

"Oh yeah!"

"They don't work on memory much at that fancy school of yours do they?"

"You went there too."

"So that'd be a 'no' right?"

"Wouldn't you know that?"

"Uh, um, well…sure."

"You don't remember what you learned at Chilton." Not a question, Rory was pretty sure that she knew the answer already.

"Heh…"

"I rest my case."

"So you'll be lawyer when you grow up then? Take care of all of mommy's necessities in life? Food, clothes, shelter, shoes?"

"Shoes are not a necessity in life mom."

Lorelai gasped. "Blasphemy!"

Luke just shook his head as the two continued bickering. Unbelievable. But really, he should be used to it by now. Those two were just alike. Two sides of the same coin.

"Okay, low blow!"

A really rare, really weird coin.

"Tristan?" Mira poked her head in his room for the second time today, just as worried as she had been this morning. The lump in the center of the bed told her that there was either a few pillows shoved under there or Tristan had buried himself in there.

Upon closer inspection of the dark blue comforter, the lump took to a weak rise and fall motion, simulating breathing. Ah, so Tristan was under there.

Or not. The boy was rather clever…

"Tristan?" she ventured again. And again, there was no reply.

Mira took a seat next to the lump, slowly tugging down the comforter until a messy halo of blond was revealed. Running her fingers through the always-spiked mess of hair he had, Mira pulled the comforter down a little more. "Tristan. Tristan please say something. I heard yelling…"

Tristan lifted his head a little, giving Mira what he hoped was a reassuring smile. If it was convincing enough, she'd just think he was tired and would leave him be. If not…she'd fuss and worry and he didn't want that. The woman shouldn't have to deal with him on top of all the other work she did around this place.

"Oh Tristan…"

It seemed that his smile was too weak, not reassuring enough to convince her that he was okay. It figured. She's always been good at seeing right through my acts. It was comforting that someone cared enough to know him that well, but it was also a little inconvenient for him right now.

She spent too much time worrying over him. Too much time hovering about him…on the bad days. Well, every day was bad here so really, she spend too much time hovering about him on the really bad days.

Tristan always feared that she'd get caught fussing over him instead of cleaning or something. His father would be furious. There was no telling what he'd do.

He'd fire her – that's what he'd do. And Tristan didn't want that. Mira needed this job. His family paid well and the Spanish maid needed this job to take care of herself and her mother.

Besides that, Tristan really didn't want the woman to go. She had always been so nice to him. And even if her constant mothering was a source of worry for him, he really did like the attention.

No, not the attention, the affection. He liked how she cared for him and comforted him. She was safe, a comfort zone for him. He needed her around. If she ever got fired…he didn't know what he'd do.

"Tristan?"

Oh, she was talking to him. "Hm?"

"I asked what all the yelling was about." Again, she added mentally. She kept her voice soft, gentle. Mira was trying to coax Tristan, from under the covers and from behind his partially-donned mask.

Tristan came out from his cocoon of covers just a little. Bending his elbow, the boy propped his head upon his upturned palm. "Oh you know – my worthlessness, my failings in comparing to my oh-so-perfect big brother…you know, the usual."

Mira found that his blasé tone upset her a little. It saddened her that this was really so common to the boy. No one should be so…so accustomed to hearing such things from their own father. "But he sounded quite angry just to be saying those things."

"He was mad about me re-joining the soccer team instead of going for football like my dearest big brother." Tristan's voice was laced with sarcasm, clearly indicating his feelings on the matter. He hoped it was enough sarcasm to keep her from detecting the lie in it. He hated lying to her, but it had to be done right now.

And it was only a half-lie anyway. He was re-joining the soccer team and his brother did play football. Mr. DuGrey did indeed know about him going back to soccer and he did, of course, disapprove. That's just not what the man had been yelling at him about.

"You made the team?" Mira opted to shift the topic a little. The blond boy was growing more disheartened as the conversation went on. The boy didn't want to talk about this right now. Granted, Mira knew Tristan would rather not talk about it ever, but this particular moment in time just wasn't good for him.

Mentally, the young woman scolded herself for bringing it up. I should know better by now. Mira tried to make a habit out of waiting a bit after the lectures before bringing them out. Usually a day, but she was just so worried. It had been too much to resist. She had had to check on him immediately. Tristan could act like the cold lectures and belittling just rolled off his back now, but Mira saw straight through it.

Tristan didn't notice the shift at first, but when he caught it Mira was given a tiny smile of gratitude. He really didn't want to go over what happened. And Mira didn't need to see the results either. So he smiled and told her about how the coach and the team had practically begged for him to come back. He told her about how he'd be going to his first practice of the year some time in the next few weeks.

He smiled because hearing these things made her smile. It made Mira think that there was at least some light in his life. That it was enough. And truthfully, and it was enough. These little things – Mira, soccer…they were enough.

For now.

And behold…the end of this chapter! Review with constructive criticism or comments/questions please!