Author's Crap: I'm back with chapter four! Hopefully I'm being coherent with this fic. I still don't completely know the outcome of this fic but, I hope you'll all continue to be there to find out with me.
Breakfast went surprisingly well. Tristan had been surprised with how interesting both Miles and Winston were. The way they played off of each other without missing a beat. It was clear that they had been best friends for a very long time. It actually made Tristan happy to see that they had such a strong friendship.
After breakfast, Tristan hopped in his car so that he could go to the auto shop and get that damned taillight. Miles had even offered to come with him to ensure that everything went smoothly. After Tristan had gotten into his car, Miles pulled up beside his vehicle in his all black shiny Mustang.
"Damn…" Tristan whistled. "Impressive wheels…"
Miles gave a small chuckle and patted the side of the car.
"It was my reward for passing my road test years ago." Miles remarked with a slightly bitter smile.
Tristan hadn't missed that expression on Miles' face. He almost wanted to ask if everything was alright but, opted against it. He didn't really know Miles like that and while their relationship was better than it was initially, it wasn't quite on friend status. More like, "decently acquainted acquaintances". He was happy that he could at least stop feeling a sense of "ugh" whenever his roommate walked in a room.
The two drove out of the parking lot and get his taillight taken care of. They sat in Miles' convertible as they waited for the light to be replaced. The silence in the car was thick.
"So…" Tristan began feeling awkward that there was no conversation happening. "What are you in school for?"
"On paper, I'm in school for business management." Miles chuckled. "I'm actually in school for Music Composition."
"Why "on paper"?" Tristan inquired curiously.
"Because, that's what my dad wants." Miles spoke rolling his eyes at nothing in particular. "He doesn't want me to become some "no good artist". I'm supposed to be the successor to the company so, it doesn't look good for the heir's son to be an artist."
Tristan fell silent. Being the son of a wealthy business owner must difficult. Tristan had gotten lucky enough with his parents that they supported whatever he wanted to do. He couldn't imagine what Miles must feel knowing his father wasn't supportive of his dreams.
"I'm sorry for loading that on you. I know we aren't exactly friends." Miles apologized looking off at the passing cars.
"No, not at all. I just couldn't imagine my parents not supporting me in my career." Tristan spoke in attempt to make Miles feel less apprehensive. "What do you play?"
"I can play the piano a little but, my main instrument is the guitar." Miles smiled at the blond a genuine smile.
Tristan was trying hard not to seem too impressed with his roommate's talents but, it was rather difficult. His former nemesis was gorgeous and, he was talented to boot? Ugh…
"What's your major?" Miles asked putting an arm on the headrest of the passenger's side.
"I'm going for theater." Tristan spoke proudly. "My mom told me once when I was younger that I should be an actor because I was such a drama queen."
The brunet chuckled before continuing.
"Are you going for musical theater or plays and stuff?" Miles was genuinely interested.
"I don't mind doing musical theater but, I do prefer doing just regular plays. My singing voice isn't anything spectacular…" Tristan spoke looking down at his hands.
He loved all aspects of theater but, he still wasn't as confident in his vocals. He was quite the actor and scored many of the lead roles in his high school's plays but, he knew he wouldn't go too far in musical theater. It bothered him because he felt that an actor should be able to effectively do both.
"I don't know about that. I think it's pretty cool that you have something that you're into and want to try everything that goes into it." Miles spoke reassuringly. "I'm sure you're not as bad as you think you are."
Tristan flushed slightly. He didn't know why Miles' comments were making him act like this. Surely he wasn't developing some type of fondness for the boy… This was happening a little too quickly for his liking.
"Thanks… That's kind of you to say." Tristan spoke graciously.
"No problem." Miles paused momentarily before speaking again. "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I know I do some things that you probably wouldn't like but, I think we could be friends."
Tristan unconsciously beamed at the notion.
"Totes!" Tristan held out a hand to shake on it. "Friends?"
"Come on, we're going to be friends, not business partners." Miles chuckled before pulling Tristan forward in a hug.
Tristan felt an odd heat rush through him as he relaxed into Miles for the second time that day. He couldn't understand how a person who he just met was making him react like this. He didn't know how much he was missing Miles' hugs until he actually experienced them. He let his own arms wrap around the brunet's shoulders and just enjoyed the closeness for a minute before they both pulled away from each other. Miles looked cool as a cucumber while Tristan's cheeks were a bright cherry red.
"I think we're gonna get along just fine." Miles spoke patting Tristan's shoulder. "I'm happy you're my roommate."
"L-likewise…" Tristan spoke averting his eyes slightly.
If Miles noticed his behavior, he wasn't saying anything about it. Oh boy… He'd really have to talk to Tori about this later. He was falling and falling fast.
A little while later, they were hopping their separate vehicles and headed back to the dorms. It was a little bit later in the afternoon and it was about time to go eat some lunch.
"Hey," Tristan stopped Miles before they were going to head back to their room. "I've gotta run to the drama department really quick but, I can meet you back at the room."
"I'm not in a hurry." Miles shrugged. "I don't mind coming with you. Plus, I haven't really seen any of the other buildings."
"Then, let's go!" Tristan grabbed Miles' hand and began to pull him before he realized exactly what he was doing. He let go of the brunet's hand nervously, afraid that he'd overstepped his boundaries. "Ah… Sorry about that…"
"It's cool." Miles just laughed it off. "Let's get going."
"Yeah." Tristan was still feeling a little shaky about this.
Yup. Things were definitely moving too fast for him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so utterly puppy-dog about someone. Not even that one teacher he'd had a crush on as a kid was able to reduce him to this. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that Miles was probably straight anyway. That somehow calmed him and disappointed him at the same time.
The walk to the drama building was shorter as the two made small talk about their schedules and whatnot. Once they reached the building, Tristan led Miles down the hall to the teacher's lounge.
"Oh, did you need to speak with a teacher? I can wait outside." Miles remarked once he read the sign on the door.
"Nah, I just came here to get some of my food out the fridge. I won't be able to pick up my refrigerator for a couple of days so, I have to store my food here." Tristan explained pushing the door open.
"Dude, you're seriously gonna walk all the way over here whenever you get hungry and don't feel like eating at the café?" Miles raised an eyebrow.
"I don't really have a choice." Tristan rummaged through the freezer for one of his bags. "Plus, it's good exercise."
"There's a gym if you want exercise." Miles snorted. "And, I have a refrigerator. No more hiking all the way out here for a meal. You can just share my fridge."
"I wouldn't want to hog all your fridge space." Tristan shook his head attempting to decline the offer.
"It's fine. It's big enough to fit my stuff and yours." Miles spoke taking one the bags marked "Tristan Milligan". "I'm not taking "no" for an answer."
Tristan sighed defeatedly. The look on Miles' face said that he was quite serious.
"Fine but, you've been warned." Tristan rolled his eyes. "I'm grateful though."
The two returned to their dorm room to be met with a very happy Winston and began to put Tristan's groceries in Miles' refrigerator. His was a tad bit bigger than the one that Tristan was going to bring down so, he was grateful for that. It even had a larger area for frozen goods to be stored.
"See?" Miles stood back and admired his handy work. "Much better, yeah?"
Tristan chuckled smiling before tearing open the cardboard box of the microwave dinner he'd reserved.
"You're my knight in shining armor." Tristan blurted out without completely thinking about the words he'd just spoken. He balked at his own words and quickly tried to backpedal them. "I-I didn't mean that."
"It's okay, Tris." Miles gave him a bright smile and moved to crouch down near a small shelf he'd placed under the lofted bed.
He took a bowl of spicy chicken flavored ramen from the shelf and the blond's eyes followed the movement. Tristan had never seen that brand before. It was spelled a little differently too. "Ramyun" it read. The other symbols on the bowl were a little foreign too.
"It's a Korean brand of ramen." Miles' voice suddenly spoke over the silence. "Stole it from Frankie before I left."
"Ah, I see…" Tristan finished opening his own meal. Miles must've noticed him staring.
He was grateful for the subject change and proceeded to place his dinner into his own microwave. While Miles went to the restroom to put water into his bowl, Tristan was alone with his thoughts. This was getting a little ridiculous. He'd just hated the guy literally a day ago. Now, he was practically hanging off every word he was saying? He really needed to talk to Tori soon.
When Miles came back into the room, Tristan offered him a friendly smile to which the brunet responded with one of his own. Tristan felt his body heat up with the eye contact and quickly turned his attention to his dinging microwave. Miles was going to be the death of him.
Author's Crap: Blame that new Dragon Age, Pokemon and my shitty work schedule for everything. Hopefully, I'll be quitting my job soon so, I might end up with more free time to work on this fic.