Tristan's High School Life - 27. Chapter 27

The following day after my morning routine, I went down to get something to eat. As I was sitting at the breakfast bar, Mack came out of Jackson's therapy room and sat beside me.

"Xander told us last night that he told you," he said seriously
"He did it was courageous of him," I replied.
"Yes, and please be gentle with him," Mack said
"I want us to be friends if only my brother wouldn't lose his shit," I replied
"I remember when a certain person was in the same boat," Mack chided
"I've grown, and I want to help Hunter, but with his temper sometimes, it worries me," I said, concerned
"TJ, Jackson, Rory, and I have been talking about some way to help him, but other than some therapy, we don't know," Mack said
"I understand; I need to get to my home school session over at the Shepard Center," I said, clearing my dishes
"Gotcha, and Tristan, you've matured despite everything thrown at you," Mack said with a smile.
"Thanks, Mack, I appreciate it," I beamed as I grabbed my bag and headed out.

I was running a bit behind, but so was my tutor as we were in the same subway car. We walked in and grabbed our usual spot, and got down to the lessons. I was distracted and thinking about Xander all day, and I could tell my tutor was annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Gavin, that I'm not giving it my all today," I said
"You seem super distracted, everything ok?" he asked
"Yes and no, a friend laid something heavy on me, and I can't stop thinking about him and making sure he's ok?" I said
"It must be heavy to keep you this distracted. Listen, let's conclude early, and you can figure your thing out," Gavin said
"Are you sure?" I asked, hoping he was honest
"Yes, we are way ahead of where we need to be, and missing today won't set us back," Gavin said, packing up.
"Thank you so much, Gavin," I replied, packing my things and taking off.

I looked for one of my Grandpa and found Grandpa Jack sitting in his office and knocked on the door.

"Come on in, Tristan, are your classes going?" he asked, looking up from the desk.
"We ended class early today because Gavin could tell I'm too distracted," I said, taking a seat in front of him.
"Ah, TJ, told us last night that Xander told you what happened. Do you want to talk about it?" Grandpa asked
"I don't know where to begin; I mean, I want to hug him and make him feel safe and never have to worry about it," I replied
"That's very grown-up of you, Tristan, and mature. When anyone goes through what he did, it can mess you up. It would be best if you made suggestions to him when you want to do something and not act controlling; it could scare him away," Grandpa said
"I do like him, and I want to be friends and see where it goes," I said
"Smart decision, maybe ask him to your place or anywhere to watch a movie," Grandpa suggested.
"A movie night might be cool," I said, getting nervous
"Tristan, it's only a movie; I can feel your anxiety over here," Grandpa said
"Sorry, I'm worried about making him feel safe," I said
"Just be you" Grandpa smiled, and his phone rang. "I need to take this, and we can chat later, ok?"
"Yeah, it's fine, Grandpa," I said and left his office.

The center was pretty dead since it was the middle of the day. I went and had lunch in the cafeteria and figured things out when someone sat down in front of me.

"Hey, Tristian," Xander said quietly.
"Hey man, you're here early, not that I've been waiting or anything," I said with a nervous laugh which caused him to smile.
"Rory picked us up early, as we had therapy today," Xander said, and Dom joined us.
"So my brother told you," Dom said quietly.
"He did, and your secret and story are safe," I said and made the motion of zipping my lips and throwing away the key.
"What is up your brother's ass?" Dom said between bites
"Language, Dominic," Xander hissed
"Yes, Alexander," Dom retorted
"Hunter, like you, Dom, is very protective; when you confronted me in my room and took my AirPods out, he took it as an act of aggression," I said
"Oh, I just didn't like Justin being all flirty and not taking no for an answer," Dom said
"That's just how Justin is, and I think you know that since I've heard you guys spend a lot of time together," I said, causing him to blush.
"So Xander, do you have plans tonight?" I asked
"Not that I know of, why?" he asked
"I was thinking, if you want, we could watch a movie together," I suggested
"Like a date?" he asked nervously
"Just two friends watching a movie," I said
"I need to ask Mack or Rory, back in a flash," Xander said, walking away, phone in hand.
"What are your intentions with my brother?" Dom asked
"Watch a movie and be his friend. Maybe something else when he's ready if he's ever ready," I said
"No other motives?" he asked with a glare
"I just feel that he needs a friend, and I think I can be that friend," I said
"You hurt him, I'll kill you," Dom said
"You kill him; flying and puking are the least of your worries," Hunter said, appearing behind me.
"Hunter, boundaries," I said, clearly annoyed. He rolled his eyes and left.
"Sorry about that," I said to Dom as Xander returned.
"Mack said it was cool," Xander said with a weak smile.
"Awesome," I said and beamed.

We played games, and the boys joined me tutoring today, and Xander seemed to enjoy helping the youths. We left, and I ordered us some pizza that we picked up along with drinks on the way home.

"Nice pad," Xander said when we entered the apartment.
"Yeah, it's nice," I said, downplaying how awesome it was.

We ate pizza and just chatted about various things. Xander is super easy to talk to once you get him to open up. He told me about growing up in California and how his mom was one of the top-rated doctors in the ER and had just been promoted to ER Chief a few days before. I made a mental note to see if we could make a memorial at his mom's hospital in her honor. I told him how I grew up in San Diego and moved east when my dad's worked for TJ.

We decided to watch a couple of different movies, and some of them were TJ's favorites. We saw Meet the Robinson's, Clue and somewhere during Rocky Horror Picture Show, we fell asleep. I woke up and found everything turned off, and someone covered us in blankets. Xander had cuddled up to me, and it felt nice. I decided not to wake him and fell back asleep. I woke to find Xander in the same position, and he looked so cute. I grabbed my phone and saw a message from TJ.