Stella's P.O.V.

It had been a couple of days since I'd found out about Tristan's role in all of the messy drama that is Brandon's past, and I've been avoiding him ever since. Which obviously wasn't that difficult since we have completely different schedules and I barely saw him at school.

I kinda felt terrible though, just cutting him off like that. But I shouldn't be feeling guilty.. I mean, he had to know I'd find out eventually, right?

Anyways, I knew I'd have to deal with it sooner or later, but I guess fate decided on sooner, considering the fact that he was standing outside my room right now.

I guess I have no option but to talk to him.

Or... well, I could always slam the door in his face?

"Hey.. your mom let me in on her way out. Can we talk?"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea" I muttered, beginning to close the door.

"Please?" he asked, placing his hand on the door to stop it. "Can I come in?"

I contemplated for a second before nodding as I let him in.

"I know you've been avoiding me and I don't know what I did, but-"

"Seriously? You're gonna pretend like you're innocent? You can cut the act, Tristan. Brandon told me" I stated, crossing my arms as I sat back down on my bed.

"Told you what?" he asked, seeming clueless.

Do I have to spell it out for him?

"About Mitzi, about Zack, about the huge mess you made" I said. His face dawned in realisation, and he stayed silent.

"Do you really have nothing to say? You lied to me, Tristan!" I exclaimed, starting to get agitated at how oblivious he was pretending to be.

"Look.. I never lied to you, I just.. didn't tell you everything" he said.

"Newsflash, keeping secrets like that qualifies as lying!" I said. "And I was beginning to think you were a good guy"

"I am! Stella, please just-"

"Oh, does a good guy sleep with his best friend's girlfriend, and then as if that wasn't enough, purposely make him walk in on her with another one his friends? Guess you really wanted to rub it in his face, huh?"

Confusion flashed over his face, as if the language I was speaking was incomprehensible to him. He seemed phased by what I was saying, like shocked - almost as if it was the first time he had heard it. Which.. granted, was completely ridiculous, since he was the one who did all this.

"Is that what he told you?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Yeah, and don't even try to justify it, because there's no chance I'm gonna believe you over him" I said.

"That's what you think happened? No wonder you were ignoring me, I would hate that guy too" he scoffed.

"That guy is YOU!" I stated, my face scrunching up in disbelief.

I can't believe he's acting like he's innocent!

"No, he's not. That's not what happened at all, Stella" he protested, stepping closer. "If you would just listen to me-"

"What, so you can lie some more?" I remarked. "Brandon's my friend, okay, I can't-"

"He was my friend once too. Doesn't that count for anything? Don't I at least deserve a chance to explain myself?" he asked.

What if there was more to the story? I'd heard Brandon's side.. maybe I should just hear him out?

"Please, Stella. I promise, this is all just one huge misunderstanding. I never meant for it to turn out the way it did" he spoke. I was about to open my mouth when my door suddenly burst open.

"What the hell is he doing here?"

"Brandon?" I asked, standing up as my eyes travelled to the guy standing at my door. "How did you-"

"I used your spare key" he said nonchalantly, stepping closer to Tristan. "You need to get out"

"I'm sorry, you did what? Some people would define that as breaking and entering, you know! Why are you even here?" I asked.

"I heard you two arguing, I'm just being a concerned neighbour.." he said, his whole body tensing up as he narrowed his eyes at Tristan.

Of course.. he hears Tristan's voice and comes charging into my room, any chance he can get to lash out at him.

"Well can you go be concerned in your own house, please? This doesn't have anything to do with you" I said, urging him to leave in attempt to prevent.. whatever was about to happen.

"Actually, it does. Seems like we have some unfinished business that I wasn't even aware of" Tristan said.

I mentally face palmed, praying that Tristan would just stay quiet before he says something he regrets.

"Stay out of this, asshole" Brandon snapped, pushing past me as he came face to face with him.

Oh boy... this is gonna get ugly real quick

"If you don't make him leave, I will" he said.

"Is that a threat?" Tristan prompted.

"You might wanna think about shutting that smart mouth of yours if you wanna keep it" Brandon warned, getting dangerously close to him as his jaw visibly clenched in anger.

"Stop it!" I ordered, trying to get in between the two. "Before you turn my room into a freaking boxing ring, calm down!"

"Can we not just.. talk about this?" I asked. "I wanna hear what he has to say!"

"Are you kidding me, Stella? This is exactly what I told you would happen, he's manipulating you!" Brandon exasperated.

"Jeez man, what did I ever do to make you so mad?" Tristan asked in bewilderment.

Oh god, can he not take a hint.. is he trying to get punched?

"You're pushing your luck, Rivers" Brandon said. "Get out"

"Not until you let me explain my side of the story. You were so quick to cut me off, you never stopped to think maybe you misunderstood things?" Tristan questioned.

"What was there to misunderstand, you're the guy who screwed my girlfriend!" Brandon snapped, getting infuriated.

"You think I'd do that to you? How many times do I have to tell you, that was all Zach, not me!" Tristan claimed. "Yeah, we hooked up once but that was months before you guys even met, it didn't mean anything! As soon as I found out you had feelings for her, I made her promise to keep it a secret so no one would get hurt"

"Oh, well congratulations, you did a great fucking job" Brandon seethed, pain echoing off his words.

"I'm sorry I lied about it, but I didn't wanna add anymore fuel to the fire, things were bad enough." Tristan said remorsefully. "What is it gonna take for you to forgive me for that?"

At this point, I kept my mouth shut, because I was beginning to sense they were getting somewhere. I mean yeah, they were yelling at each other, but at least they were talking now. Especially after avoiding it for an entire year, it was time they talked. There was so much unspoken history between the two that was coming out, and I didn't want to interfere.

"I know you weren't with her when we were together" Brandon admitted.

"What?" Tristan asked in shock. "You knew? All this time, you knew I was telling the truth? Then what the fuck has this whole thing been about?"

"Don't act clueless, you know exactly what. Sophomore year, party at some random senior guy's beach house. That jog your memory?" he sneered.

I could cut the tension in here with a knife...

No, seriously.. do you think they'll notice if I left right now? They seem to have forgotten my presence anyway, I should probably slip away and let them deal with their issues.

But what if they kill each other?

Well, that can be their problem, I'm out!

Slowly slipping down from the foot of my bed, I began to tip toe to the door, clutching the knob as I began to turn it.

"Where are you going?"

Dang it, I was so close!

"Nowhere, apparently" I whispered to myself. turning to face them as I leaned my back against the door. "Guys, this is getting pretty.. um, personal. I don't think you want me here, I mean it's none of my business, so I should just-"

I hurriedly got the door open, stepping out only to be dragged back by the both of them.

"No way, you're the only thing keeping me from tearing him apart!" Brandon said, closing the door behind him. He seemed to be distracted, and I followed his eyes down to my arm, which still had Tristan's hand clutched onto it from pulling me back into my room. He clearly took note of that though, and suddenly let go, taking a step back from me in hopes not to piss Brandon off anymore than he already had - if that was possible.

"You know what we should do? Stage an intervention" I said, walking to the middle of the room.

"Isn't that for like, sick people?" Tristan asked.

"Perfect for you" Brandon remarked.

"Stop it! You, stand over here" I directed, pointing at one spot. "And you over there"

After putting them at a safe enough distance, I stood back. "Now, try to calmly express your feelings, and explain your version of events"

They both looked at each other, and then back at me as if I was crazy.

"I wasn't aware you were a shrink" Brandon chuckled, making me roll my eyes dismissively. "Also, you're a huge hypocrite, I mean you telling us to 'calmly' express our feelings.. this is a joke right?"

"I could always walk out and let you guys go at it like cavemen, your choice. But I think we're all a little more mature than that, so why don't you just keep your witty little remarks to yourself and do what I say" I ordered.

"That was kinda hot" Tristan blurted out, making me crack an amused smile which I instantly covered up as I caught wind of Brandon's expression. Seriously, if the guy clenches his fists any tighter he's gonna dislocate half the bones in his hand.

"So um.." I said, clearing my throat. "What happened at this party?"

"I already told you, he was the one who suggested we go in the first place, he set me up" Brandon said.

"Man, that is utter bullshit. I had no idea Zack was the one hooking up with her, I just suspected it was some random guy. I let you walk in there because I knew if anything was going on, you'd have to see it with your own eyes. But I swear, I never knew it was Zack, I had no idea he was even at that party!" Tristan claimed. "I did it to help you!"

"To help me? You thought that making me witness my girlfriend cheating on me was going to help me?" Brandon remarked. "Did you ever consider, I don't know, talking to me?!"

"You wouldn't have believed me! You were in too deep, she had you wrapped around her finger.. what else was I supposed to do?" Tristan asked. "I didn't do it to spite you, Brandon, you need to know that. Up until now, I genuinely thought I was doing you a favour"

"Did you really have no idea Zack would be there?" I asked, to which he shook his head.

"Are you falling for this?" Brandon questioned, staring at me in disbelief. I shrugged, not knowing what to believe anymore.

Honestly, it seems like Tristan was just trying to look out for him, and I can tell his intentions weren't hurtful despite coming off that way. And maybe Brandon took what happened the wrong way, blaming the wrong person, taking his anger out on him because he was the only one left there to blame. With both Zack and Mitzi leaving him, I guess it's understandable that he'd deflect all his rage towards Tristan.

"I've had enough of this, I'm out" he scoffed.

"If I knew I'd lose our friendship over this, I would've never outed them"

He stopped dead in his tracks, debating whether to look back.

"I'm sorry for everything they put you through, but I'm even more sorry that you ever thought I would intentionally use that to hurt you. I clearly wasn't a good enough friend if it was so easy for you to believe that I'd betray you like that"

And more silence.. until after what felt like a life time, Brandon finally faced him again.

"If you really are innocent in all this, then why did you let me believe otherwise for an entire year?" Brandon asked.

"I wanted to give you space, man" Tristan said. "You didn't want to talk to me and I had to respect that, but I didn't think it would be permanent until you left football"

"Why bother trying to make amends now? You seemed to be doing just fine all this time" Brandon said, and Tristan's gaze slowly travelled to me.

Is he saying I'm the reason? I guess now that I'm involved, they'd have to cross paths sooner or later.

Shifting under both of their stares, I spoke up. "I should leave. I'll come back when you guys hash it out"

"You don't have to-"

"I think I do. Seriously, all your.. history, that's between the two of you, I can't really be a mediator if I wasn't there. Besides, I doubt you guys are actually gonna start really talking until you're alone" I said, heading to the door.

"I'm not asking you guys to be friends again or anything. Just that you at least try to understand each other's standpoints, that's all. For me?" I pled, looking mostly at Brandon since he was being the least cooperative.

"Fine."

It had been almost an hour since I'd left them alone.

Was it wise, considering Brandon was ready to knock his teeth out at the start?

Nope. But for some reason, I had faith it would work out. I hadn't heard any loud noises or yelling yet which was a good sign, right?

Or meant that he'd killed Tristan.. on second thought, this was a terrible idea!

Deciding to follow that evil little voice in my head, I walked back up to my room, and stood outside the door, placing my ear on it to get a sense of what was going on.

I know what you're thinking.. eavesdropping, really Stel? But it was getting too quiet in there.. suspiciously quiet.

"If I could take it all back, believe me I would"

Well, at least he's alive.

The voices were becoming more muffled, as if they were speaking more quietly, so I moved closer in attempt to hear better. However, I didn't realise the door was slightly ajar as so when leaning on it, it flung open sending me tumbling to the floor in a loud 'thud'.

"I- I um, I was just-"

"Eavesdropping?" Brandon asked.

"What? No!" I chuckled, getting up and composing myself. "I was gonna see if you guys were o-okay and I uh.. just suddenly lost balance."

"We're good. All is forgiven" Tristan shrugged.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, dude. I said I'd forgive you but that doesn't mean we're gonna be shopping together anytime soon" Brandon joked.

"So.. everything okay now?" I asked.

"I hope it can be between us, Stel." Tristan faltered. "Give me another chance, I promise I won't mess it up"

"On one condition" I proposed, tilting my head to the side as an idea appeared in my mind.

"Anything" he nodded. I grabbed his hand, and then walked over to Brandon and let go.

"Truce, shake on it" I said, gesturing them to do so.

"I'm in if you are" Tristan agreed, outstretching his arm.

Brandon glanced at me indecisively, before exhaling and doing the same.

"Fine, whatever. For Stella" he said with fake enthusiasm. "I should get going"

"But this doesn't mean I condone.. this" he said, eyeing us.

"Well it's a good thing you're not my mom, isn't it?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Speaking of your mom, I don't think it's wise to leave you two home alone so late" he said, crossing his arms. "On second thought, I should probably stay and chaperone you two"

Flashing Tristan an apologetic smile, I pushed Brandon in the hallway to talk to him.

"What are you doing?" I whispered. "I thought you said you'd leave him alone!"

"Yeah.. but who says I can't have a little fun?" he winked.

"How about movie night, my house?" he asked, as Tristan joined us out here. "Old times sake, like we used to back in junior high?"

"You don't need to agree to this, he's just being-"

"Sounds good" Tristan agreed, as the both of them started to walk off.

Ugh. What have I been tricked into? The three of us in Brandon's house watching a movie together after they were literally fighting just this morning?!

I know I was the one who wanted them to get along, but I didn't expect them to be so quick to do that. Hanging out with the two of them seems weird.. but then again, I'm the really stranger here, they've been friends for ages.

"Coming, Sunshine?" Brandon asked, rather loudly. Loud enough to make Tristan shoot him a confused look.

Probably because if anyone should be calling me nicknames it should be him. Judging by the childish amusement in his eyes, Brandon knew exactly what he was doing.

"Be right there, asshole" I smiled sweetly in the same tone.

How bad could it be, really?

I spoke too soon.

Not even five minutes in, and I'm totally uncomfortable. I can't really complain because Brandon is doing exactly what I told him to, he was being nice. But it was so painfully fake, like all that comes out of his mouth is sarcasm.

And every time Tristan did anything remotely nice to me, Brandon would try to one up him like some weird pride battle.

Anyways, I'd managed to momentarily flee the scene to get snacks, but that too was about to end since the both of them had joined me and were sitting on the barstools.

"So how'd you know the exact location of all the food in here?" Tristan asked.

"She's always at my house. Clingy, right?" Brandon sighed.

"That's because my best friend Liam unfortunately happens to share a house with you" I said. "But yes, I practically live here, the guest room is permanently reserved for me"

"Yet somehow she always ends up in my bed.." Brandon muttered casually, making me audibly gasp. "You really need to quit that, Stel. My sheets are getting all perfume-y"

"I thought you guys were just friends...?" Tristan asked.

"We are, I swear! Well, maybe not after tonight though, I'm seriously starting to reconsider" I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "Also, you might wanna ask Ali, considering she's the one who wreaks of cheap perfume"

I cannot believe him, he actually takes joy in embarrassing me, one stupid remark after the other.

That conniving, evil little son of a-

*BEEP*

I opened the microwave, grabbing the popcorn from the edge to avoid getting burnt. Suddenly, an idea popped up into my head.

"Think fast!" I said to Brandon, making his reflexes kick in as I tossed the bag to him. He obviously wasn't paying attention and fell right for it, catching the steaming bag in his hands.

"What the hell, Stella?!" He yelped, instantly dropping it to the ground within seconds, making both Tristan and I burst out in laughter.

"What?" I shrugged innocently. "If you're gonna play football next year, you need to sharpen those reflexes, right?"

"Preferably not with scorching hot popcorn" he grumbled, grabbing some ice from the freezer in a dramatic attempt to cool down. Seriously, it wasn't even that hot!

"So, how'd you guys meet?" I asked, picking up the bag and pouring it's contents into a bowl as I tried to make conversation. "Oh, was it during boys scouts?"

"Hey! You promised to never bring that up again, frizztella" Brandon warned.

Dang, I shouldn't have told him about that middle school nickname. Its like I spoon feed him with blackmail material.. remind me never to share anymore childhood anecdotes!

"Message received, no need to get mean" I retorted in defence. "What are we watching?"

"Anything as long as it isn't another one of your awful chick flicks" he answered.

"At least I don't watch cars crashing into each other for 2 hours straight with no real plot!" I said, collapsing into the couch as he switched on the TV.

He picked out some random action movie that I settled on after calling a bunch of them boring, and then sat next to me whilst Tristan was on the other side of me, basically sandwiching me in. Great, just great...

After a while both of them were fully engrossed in the movie, whereas I could barely focus with the two of them so close, breathing down my neck. Tristan's arm would brush against mine every so often which was obviously not accidental, whilst Brandon's elbow was digging into my rib cage.

"Brandon!" I whispered, trying to get his attention. His eyes remained glued to the screen, as he hummed in acknowledgement.

"Move your arm, it's poking me" I complained. He looked down and muttered a quick 'sorry', before moving. But instead of distancing himself, he lifted up his arm and snaked it around my neck.

"Better?" he whispered in my ear.

Ugh, I can practically see that devious smirk on his face...

"This isn't funny" I groaned in annoyance, heaving off his arm as he chuckled to himself.

"Really, sunshine? I know you'd rather it be me than him." he whispered, so faint it was barely comprehensible. "I mean, you expect me to sit here and watch him get all touchy and do nothing?"

Managing to squeeze myself out from between them, I got up from the couch. "I'm gonna.. go to the bathroom" I said, before rushing up the stairs. I walked down the corridor, charging into Liam's room as I slammed the door behind me.

"Jeez, is there no such thing as privacy anymore? What if I was indecent, Stella?" Liam questioned, jumping up from his bed at the sudden interruption of whatever he was doing.

"Well, there are some things more important than your privacy" I laughed, collapsing into the pillow next to him.

"Okay, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Boy drama" I huffed. "Why are guys so.. so-"

"Infuriatingly stupid?" he proposed. "Trust me, if I knew I'd tell you. Does this have to do with Tristan?"

"Yeah, and Brandon. I kinda got them to.. make up, you know, work out their issues. But then he wouldn't leave us alone, and now we're having a totally awkward movie night and there's major tension between them. Why would he insist we all hang together if he was just gonna be annoying whole time?" I asked. "He's having an ego battle with Tristan, and he keeps trying to do things to one up him and provoke him"

"Maybe he's marking his territory.." he said.

"Do I look like Russia to you? I'm not anyone's territory" I scoffed.

"Come on, it makes sense. Tristan clearly poses a threat to him, I mean, he thinks he stole his spot on the team and now he's trying to steal you. Brandon's trying to get him to back off" he said.

"Whatever happens between Tristan and I isn't gonna change the fact that I'm friends with Brandon though" I said. "It's not like I have to choose... wait, do I have to choose?!"

"You don't" he laughed. "Just relax Stel, I'm sure he'll lay off soon."

"Can I hide out here?" I asked.

"No! You can't them alone, that's even worse. Just quit whining and go back" he urged.

"Fine, you're right" I sighed, getting up. "Pray that I don't end up bitch slapping him"

Unwillingly, I trudged back down the stairs and joined them, this time sitting cross legged so I had some personal space.

After an hour or two had passed, we'd somehow all survived this painfully tense night and were scattered across the living room. In the midst of a heated debate about sports, I had zoned out and decided to help Liam re organise the kitchen for no particular reason other than his obsessive need to alphabetise his cookbooks.

"Hey, it's getting late, I'm gonna get going" Tristan said, realising the time as he checked his phone.

"Wait, I'll walk you to your car" I said, grabbing my jacket as we walked out.

"That was.. weird, right? Not just me?" Tristan asked.

"Oh yeah no it was horrible" I said. "Can we never do that again?"

"I hope you're referring to the three of us hanging out.." he said.

"Yep, I'd much rather it just be the two of us next time" I said.

"So, there is a next time? I didn't completely blow it?" he asked, getting into his car. He rolled down the window as I leaned my elbows on the door.

"I'm surprised you're so persistent, especially after Brandon making it pretty clear he's incapable of being civil"

"Well, you're worth the effort" he smiled.

And just like that, he's back to making my heart flutter... maybe I was too quick to judge him. Whatever happened in the past, he's willing to put it aside. Brandon was wrong about him, and I'm sure he'll see that. But for now, I guess I'll just have to convince him to lay off.

"Goodnight, Tristan" I whispered, before backing off the car and watching him drive away.

So sorry for the late update, I had major writers block bc this was meant to be a completely different chapter but then I realised it wouldn't have made any sense with them mad at Tristan so this had to come first. But dw, the next will be much better and longer. Also IK its kinda annoying having them seem interested in other people but I promise it's only temporary!

Some of yall were asking whether Brandon has slept with other girls, and to answer that, nope only Mitzi. Oh, and Brandon's POV will be featured next chapter, for everyone who wanted that.

So, thoughts... Is Tristan being genuine? Can we trust him?

Remember to review, love you all ! :)