Two Boys Learning

23. A Real Date

"So what you're saying," Will said, staring in disbelief at Tristan as he fidgeted, a scowl that looked forced on his face, "that you want to go on a date."

Tristan cleared his throat, his scowl fading a little. "Just to keep up appearances. You know. To keep pretending."

Will squinted at him.

Tristan blinked slowly, then flashed him a self-important grin that Will was more used to.

He sighed, looking down and fiddling with the zipper on his jacket. "I guess it depends. Where would we go?"

"I dunno," Tristan responded, taking Will's answer as enough of an assent that he sat down at the picnic table across from him. "I figured we could go get pizza and watch a movie or something."

"At your house?" Will asked, arching a brow.

Tristan flushed. "Er, no. My parents aren't aware that I have a boyfriend, however fake this relationship is."

"Mhm." Will regarded him, then sighed. "We can do it at my house. My mom's heading out of town this weekend for one of her college friend's baby shower or something, and I have the house to myself."

Tristan grinned. "Sweet. This Friday? I can bring the pizza."

Will heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Come at around eight; my mom leaves at seven thirty and even though she knows I'm gay, she also thinks you're an asshole."

Tristan snickered a little. "Alright. See ya then, babe," he added, making Will flush a little and the passing group of girls giggle. Tristan grinned at Will and walked off.

Will rolled his eyes again, smiling a little, and then his eyes caught on a small figure who had stopped in his tracks.

Will paled.

Ash stared at him, then turned and bolted. Swearing softly, Will started to rise, but then realized that he didn't like Ash anymore. Clenching his jaw, he slowly sat back down, gripping his phone hard enough that he was surprised it didn't break.

~ ~ ~

Knock knock knock.

Almost before he finished knocking, Will pulled the door open, grabbed the pizza from Tristan's hands, and stepped aside, already flipping open the box and grabbing a piece of pepperoni. "Thanks, bro," he said, shoveling half the piece in his mouth.

Tristan snickered a little, shrugging out of his jacket and closing the door behind him. "No problem. What movie are we gonna watch?"

Will shrugged. "You ever seen Avatar?"

Tristan blinked. "Like, the TV show?"

Will shook his head. "Nah. The one with the giant blue people from another planet."

Tristan shook his head, looking skeptical.

"It's great," Will said around another humongous bite of pizza, heading into the living room and setting the box on the coffee table and dropping onto the couch, grabbing the remote and turning on Disney plus.

Tristan picked up a piece of pizza and flopped onto the couch next to him, a safe distance away, and Will flicked through the options until he found what he was looking for.

He smiled a little and leaned back after choosing another piece of pizza and leaning back, glancing over at Tristan. He was surprised to find the other boy's eyes trained on him, and he blinked.

"Uh. Hi," he said, lifting a brow, and waving a little with his pizza slice.

Tristan blinked, then looked away. "So what's this mainly about?" he asked as the opening credits started appearing on the screen. 

Will eyed him, then took a bite of pizza and looked back to the TV. "This guy, Jake, gets sent to this other planet after his brother dies, who was the guy who was originally supposed to go to the planet for science-y stuff." He waved the piece of pizza at the screen. "Just watch. It's really cool."

~ ~ ~

"She's my favorite character for sure."

Will laughed and nudged Riley's shoulder, cuddling up against his boyfriend's chest and breathing in his familiar scent as they watched Avatar on Riley's TV."Is it because she looks like me?"

Riley snorted. "That definitely has a part in it. But she's so badass."

Will laughed. "I could be badass for you."

Riley grinned and kissed the top of Will's head. "I know you could. But she's a fictional character in a movie."

Will twisted so that his head was resting in Riley's lap, looking up at his boyfriend and studying the swoop of his jawline, the curve of his full lips, the silky look of his black hair.

"You're beautiful," Will murmured, lifting his hand and threading his hands through Riley's hair. "What did I ever do to deserve you, you beautiful man?"

Riley looked down at him and grinned, lowering his head until his mouth connected with Will's. Will pulled him closer, running his tongue along the seam of Riley's lips, and the other man parted his lips for him, so their tongues were dancing as the movie played in front of them, forgotten.

~ ~ ~

"Will? Will, you awake? The movie's over..."

Will yawned, prying his eyes open, and blinked a few times. There was an arm slung over his waist, a comfortable weight against him, and his head was resting in someone's lap.

No, not someone, he realized. TRISTAN.

He shot into a sitting position, his eyes wide, suddenly very alert.

"I--" he started. "What happened? How the ever-loving fuck did I get into your lap?"

Tristan grinned at him, looking not even a little apologetic. "You fell asleep, and then randomly snuggled up next to me. I have to admit, you look a lot less like a rabid dog when you're asleep."

Will narrowed his eyes a little. 

Tristan grinned a little broader and looked at the clock on his phone.

"Ah--it's eleven. I told my parents I'd be back by midnight." He rose, stretching, and yawned. "This was fun. Almost like a real date, you know?"

"This wasn't real," Will snarled, with more force than he'd intended. Tristan's grin faded a little, but he nodded.

"I know," he said. "I was just saying. Sorry."

Will narrowed his eyes a little more, then looked away and sighed. "Good night, Tristan. See you at school on Monday."

Tristan hesitated for a few more seconds, and then nodded and grabbed his jacket form the back of the couch and left, closing the front door with a faint click behind him.

Will slumped against the couch, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. What was he doing?

- - - - - - - -

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The next chapter will definitely be Will/Riley.

Q: When's you birthday?

A: Mine's March 19th. It really sucked this year, because quarantine went into effect the freaking day before.