4Miles Hollingsworth III was used to things going his way. His ability to think on his feet and his endless amount of charm was usually enough to get whatever he wanted. How else was he able to get back on Maya's good side every time he pushed too far? Of course he eventually did cross the point of no return, but by then it didn't matter anymore. Because that's when he had Tristan.
It was stupid to have pushed him away last spring. But now it was another school year and he was going to take his time to slowly but surely make things right.
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It was a brand new semester and Tristan was feeling fierce. As a Degrassi junior, he had big plans. And for once it didn't revolve around finding love. He was going to be the next student president. With his two besties by his side, nothing could stand in his way of ruling the school. It had been a desire that he harboured since he was a niner at Drew Torres' election campaign party, and saw first hand how glamorous the lifestyle could be.
He arrived at his locker and double checked his text from Maya for the combination. Her books were neatly sitting on the lower shelf. He fully expected the top half to be empty but to his surprise he found a mint, an eclair that was still warm, and a paper crane that was hanging by a string which was taped at the top of the locker. Tristan quickly looked left and right, only to see a figure dashing away from around the corner. He pocketed the mint and admired the origami figure that will now have a new home in his locker for the rest of the year. Tristan then gave the pastry a longing look. If he jogged home after school instead of taking the bus, that would get rid of the extra calories, right? Before he was able to talk himself out of it, he took his time to savour the dessert and smiled over the fact that Miles was thinking about him.
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Miles shouldn't have been surprised that the back to school treats that he stashed in Tristan's locker wouldn't have been enough to win him back completely. But thanks to a certain ex-girlfriend who agreed on keeping the lock opened in order for him to execute stage one of his plan, he and Tristan have transitioned to short, yet pleasant, conversations. But the raven hair boy was still evasive when it came time to setting a date to hang out. It was time to step up his game.
It took a week, but Miles managed to make an arrangement with Tiny and his buddies to have them help him with the next phase. So what if he had to spend the weekend doing all of their Rubber Room homework that was assigned so far? He knew what he had in mind would be worth it. Miles arranged for Zoë to be the one to lure Tristan out to a clearing next to the basketball court. The second he saw them coming from around the corner, he pushed up his sleeves and gave Tiny a nod.
Music started to play, but it wasn't any random song. It was one that he knew well because it was the same rap number that he did his hip hop routine to all of those years ago. Miles was rusty, but thanks to some last minute practice sessions with Frankie he managed to not fall on his face. And with Tiny and his friends cheering him on, he didn't come across as a total idiot. By the time he wrapped up, Tristan was standing in the circle that was formed around him with his arms crossed and his jaw wide open. When he finished, their eyes locked and Miles received the first genuine smile from him for a long time. Unfortunately they weren't able to talk because Miles was immediately swarmed by star struck girls, but he knew that he definitely made the right step forward.
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It was getting harder and harder to say no to Miles. Tristan had to admit that his ex was doinga good job trying to get things back to the way they were. And he had to appreciate the fact that instead of buying him fancy trinkets like he did with Maya when he screwed up, Miles was being thoughtful and considerate with his kind gestures. He still wasn't going to make it easy for him. Tristan was still doing his own thing instead of boy chasing, and he found it refreshing. Case in point, he rejoined Fashion Club, which was quickly becoming one of his highlights of his week. It was definitely one of the more popular extracurriculars. Between keeping his already locked in contacts from his time on the basketball team to getting to know the new queen bees and their cliques who were racing to be on top of the latest trends, Tristan knew how to be everyone's Gay Best Friend and hopefully ensure their support when it came time to promote himself as future school president.
"Zoë! You're finally here!" he exclaimed as the brunette slipped in the seat next to him. "I have the perfect idea for the end of term fashion show that will knock your socks off."
"Sorry Tris! I'm actually going to work on this with someone else."
"But I had you locked in as my partner weeks ago. What changed?"
Before she could answer, Grace plopped in the chair next to her and draped her arm casually around Zoë's shoulder. Tristan let out a sly smile and an exaggerated sigh before going to the sign up sheet and seeing if anyone else was partnerless. At the bottom of the page a familiar surname made him jump until he deducted that the "Hollingsworth" was most likely Frankie. Tristan was actually looking forward to seeking her out. She always had a keen eye for fashion and by working with her he would manage to complete the set of being partnered up with all three Hollingsworth siblings. He went to sit back down and wait for her arrival.
"Is this seat taken?"
The last voice that Tristan expected to hear rang out and caused shivers to take over his body before he collected himself. It was Miles.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, the last time I heard, it turns out owning an endless amount of button-ups and being too liberal with the colour blue does not count as having a sense of style. I guess it's time to change that, right partner?"
Tristan blushed and nodded as he gestured for him to take a seat. When Miles sat close enough for their shoulders to comfortably rub against each other, he didn't move away. If this boy really was serious about sticking with Fashion Club, Tristan couldn't avoid him any longer.
And the best part was that he didn't even want to.
