"So what now?"

Tristan didn't even know how to respond. His closest guy friend who was apparently no longer his unrequited crush stared at him with such intensity that the blond couldn't look away even if he wanted to.

"Let's... play basketball."

Miles' features softened and he let out a chuckle. That was the last thing he expected to come out of Tristan's mouth, but surprisingly enough it was what he needed the most. Maybe the normalcy of their common interest might just be what can help him wrap his head around the confession that he was quick to blurt out even if he had no regrets.

"Look, while we don't have to immediately talk about... this, I think it's only fair to clear the air for the time being," Tristan said slowly. "Who ever scores a point gets to ask a question?"

"Sure, let's play."

Miles jogged ahead of Tristan to retrieve a basketball from the pool house and led the way towards the court on the other side of the house. After a few minutes of one-to-one and a handful of close calls, Miles sunk in the first basket.

"Are you staying in town for spring break?"

Tristan grinned and nodded his head.

"My brother is back home for a few days so I'm sure my mom will guilt him into spending some bonding time with me. Other than that... you have my number."

Before Miles was able to allow his mind wonder what exactly Tristan really meant by that, the blond promptly snatched the ball out of his hands and streaked across the court to neatly toss the ball in the hoop.

"Can we... keep this a secret?"

Miles was taken back with the request. While he knew next to nothing about Tristan's relationship with Creepo Yates, it was obvious that an affair of that nature had to be kept under wraps. Otherwise it would have spread like wildfire in the halls of Degrassi, and nothing would have been able to hold Miles back from giving the English teacher a solid pounding. While he wasn't ready to scream out this newly discovered side of himself from the rooftops, he wasn't going to completely pretend that it didn't exist either. But if this is what Tristan wanted for now, so be it.

"All right. Nobody knows until we figure this out ourselves."

Tristan beamed and a breath was caught in Miles throat when he noticed how... pretty he looked, smiling just for him. Miles' head couldn't understand these new feelings but he knew that his heart wanted him to just walk over and give him a kiss. Before he could react, Tristan bounced the ball at him and he remembered that they were still playing.

Miles took a chance and shot the ball from where he was standing, even if it was rather far from the net. He smirked when he heard the satisfying swish until a grim thought entered his head.

"Are you ever going to tell me about…him?"

Miles couldn't help but flinch when he saw the pain that washed over Tristan's face. The blond quickly shook his head as if to pull himself away from the past.

"…I might."

Back in the game, Miles faked right and darted left, but right before he was going to make the shot, Tristan stole the ball and snatched the point away from him.

"I do have something important to ask," said the blond in almost a whisper while he unconsciously tightened his grip over the ball. He became serious as he averted his eyes and turned his head away. "Are you... completely over Maya?"

Miles didn't answer right away in order to allow himself to give the question some deep thought. He wasn't going to lie and say that his relationship with his ex-girlfriend meant nothing at all. He did love her once, and there was a time that he would do anything for her, including being her secret boyfriend while watching that Rubber Room skid drape himself all over her until they broke up for good during the Wild West event. There was that glimmer of hope for things to go back the way they were, but it was completely extinguished when Maya found out about him and Zoë at the party. No, there was no going back, ever. He needed someone and for the first time it wasn't her.

"Yes. If I still thought there was a chance to fix things, I would have been at the dance trying to win her back. You and I both know what happened instead."

With those words Tristan faced him again to give him a soft look with his eyes filled with hope. A look that meant that Miles said something right. He cupped one side of Tristan's face and leaned forward to kiss his cheek on the other side. He felt the blond's shoulders slump down and heard him release a breath that he probably wasn't aware that he was holding. The brunet dropped another kiss on the corner of his mouth before finally landing on his waiting lips.

This kiss was a lot more unhurried compared to their brief heated exchange the night before, but it was no less exhilarating. Since he and Tristan were the same height, Miles took the time to appreciate the freedom of no longer having to stoop over when making out. His ex would usually be pulling him down by the back of his neck at this point. All of those past memories were slipping away like sand through the cracks of time now that Miles was consumed with the warmth coming from Tristan's hands that were splayed widely on his chest.

Once they pulled away, Miles noted that the other boy definitely looked a lot more relaxed, but there was still no mistaking the touch of caution in his stance. It didn't take an idiot to realize that a part of Tristan will always feel a bit insecure of his former best friend and the relationship that Miles had with her. The brunet was relieved that he no longer harboured any residual feelings for Maya. And he was more than ready to spend the entire spring break to prove that this was not a game to Tristan.

Because if that was still the case, he knew that would be enough for this boy to turn around, walk away, and only look back to say goodbye.