The Halloween Incident

by Dawn Sister

  Tristan buried his face into Danny’s shoulder breathing hard, the heat going through the cloth of his T shirt,

  “You satisfied now?” Danny asked, “Now that you’ve had me again and drained me of every last drop of fluid in my body?”

  “Shit Danny, you turn me on so much.” Tristan chuckled softly, “I can’t help myself.” Danny kissed him in acknowledgement; revelling in the fact that he could do that: kiss Tristan whenever and wherever he wanted. That was something he was sure he was never going to get used to. He was going to enjoy every minute of it though.

  Tristan extricated himself from Danny’s limbs, delicious as lying entwined with him was; he had to admit he was very hungry too,

  “I guess we have to show our faces to the world some time.” He said, standing and stretching, “And I don’t want you wasting away to nothing, Danny, you need your energy if you’re gonna keep up with me.”

  “You can be so full of yourself sometimes, Tristan Gillman.” Danny snorted at him and Tristan giggled,

  “Yeah, you love it though.” He walked into the bathroom to get cleaned up, once again and emerged a few minutes later rubbing his fingers through his hair.

  Danny watched Tristan carefully as he moved about their room getting dressed to go out. He really was a very attractive young man. His dark hair and deep blue eyes; his tall slim frame and long, almost elegant legs; the way he just oozed confidence and sex appeal all made him very irresistible. He did love Tristan’s attitude; the way he was so confident and devil may care. He began to wonder how he had been able to resist those charms for over a year. Had he been blind?

  He shook his head as he began to dress as well; he had been straight; or at least going through the motions of being straight. He had been happy but realised now, he hadn’t really been satisfied. He had never had a serious relationship. He had never wanted a serious relationship, until now. Did Tristan want the same? He had certainly said as much while they were in the hospital. He had still been under the influence of the sedative drug he’d been given though.

  Danny’s thoughts wandered as he pulled on his sneakers; back to all the things they had said to each other in the hospital. They hadn’t actually decided just exactly what to call each other, lovers, or boyfriends. It didn’t really matter when it was just them, but when they went out in public he would have to have a word to describe their relationship. He would have to explain to everyone that he was dating a guy when he had appeared exclusively heterosexual since the beginning of college. Danny gulped, he was going to have to come out and he still hadn’t got it straight in his head yet. Was he gay? Was he bi? He didn’t know.

  Tristan stopped in the middle of the room and regarded Danny with a tender smile and soft cobalt eyes,

  “You about ready to go, space case?” he asked, “Or do you need to come back from where ever you went just now?”

  Danny gave him a bleary eyed look as he fastened his sneakers and smiled back,

  “I’m ready. I think.” He said, an air of uncertainty hanging over him that Tristan could almost physically see,

  “We don’t have to go out you know.” He said, a look of concern on his expressive, open face, “We could order more take out.” Danny shook his head,

  “We have to do this eventually, Tris.” He said, trying hard not to sound so damn nervous.

  Tristan regarded him sympathetically, then took his hand and led him to his bed, making him sit,

  “What is it that bothers you the most,” he asked his blond haired friend, “Is it that when we go out of this room you’ll be thinking that people know your business or are you worried people will think differently of you knowing that you’re dating a guy?” Danny hung his head with a sigh,

  “I don’t know,” his voice was barely a whisper, “I guess it’s that they’ll think differently of me, and I know that shouldn’t bother me, but it does somehow.”

  “You didn’t think any differently of me when I told you I was gay.”

  “I know, and you’re so open about it all. I wish I was more like you, Tris, I really admire you’re openness and the fact that you don’t give a shit what other people think.”

  “You don’t strike me as the kind of guy that cares too much about what the outside world thinks either.” Tristan told him, softly, brushing a lock of hair from Danny’s eyes and revelling in the fact that he could do it, “There’ve been plenty of rumours spread about us in the past and you were never bothered by them when they weren’t true. Why would you be bothered now?”

  “I’m not.” Danny grimaced, “I just spent the first year of college playing the field with a whole bunch of girls who all thought I was sleeping with you at the same time any way. I don’t know why, when it is actually true, that I should be bothered. Shit, Tristan, I’ve never been in this situation before and I need to get it straight in my head, I think.”

  “We don’t need to tell anyone yet, we can keep it quiet.” Tristan said softly, knowing that keeping quiet about being with this incredibly sexy man was going to kill him. To his relief Danny shook his head,

  “Everyone already knows, all our friends do any way, they were here on Sunday, remember? They came to visit you and then you left in a rage because I put my foot in my mouth big time.”

  “Oh yeah.” He said in surprise. There were still some gaps in Tristan’s memory but he was gradually piecing events back together. Getting them in sequence seemed to be the biggest problem,

  “So what do you wanna do, Danny? How do you wanna play this?” Tristan asked, “You know I’ve never hidden from the world what I am, but if you wanna wait for a while to let people in general know that we’re together, then we can do that. You know I’d do anything for you, Danny. We have to do what’s right for both of us and if you’re not comfortable with people knowing yet, then….” He let the sentence hang.

  Danny regarded him carefully seeing the hurt in Tristan’s eyes. Hurt he had put there and he hated himself for it,

  “Shit, Tris, I am being such a selfish ass.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t think you are. You got things to think about and to deal with.” Tristan was genuinely concerned for his friend and Danny was blown away by his unselfishness,

  “What I have to deal with is nothing to what you’ve just been through.” Danny placed his hands on Tristan’s face, and Tristan was surprised to see tears in his grey eyes, “Here’s you going through hell and I’m worrying about a few narrow minded gossip mongers who think they’ve known about us for months any way. I should be supporting you, not the other way round.”

  “You are supporting me, Dan, you always support me. You’re always there for me, I never need to ask. If I c’n return the favour once in a while then it’s my pleasure.”

  “How can you be so calm about this, about what Troy did?” Danny asked as his hands moved down to Tristan’s shoulders, which slumped slightly as if suddenly weighed down by all the events of the week,

  “I’m not calm, believe me, Dan, but there ain’t a lot I c’n do about it is there? I might think about it and be angry about it and even have nightmares about it, but I can’t stop it from happening because it already did. I couldn’t have stopped it from happening at the time because it was out of my control. What I can do is think about what’s really important, and right now that’s you.”

  “How did I get so lucky?” Danny asked softly, gently brushing his fingers across Tristan’s cheek and running them through his thick dark hair, “How did I get so lucky to have you as a roommate when it could have been anybody, it’s such a random choice?”

  “I’m the one that’s lucky bud, to have found someone like you, amongst the whole of the rest of the world.” Tristan closed his eyes and leaned into Danny’s caress with a soft smile.

  Danny pulled him to lie back against the head board and Tristan rested his head on Danny’s chest. It was much the same position they had been in after the Halloween party, just a few days before when this had a
ll started. Danny gently stroked Tristan’s hair and Tristan’s fingers traced patterns across his friend’s T shirt. They lay there quietly for a few moments. Danny broke the silence,

  “If we hadn’t been roommates then we might never have met and where would we be now?”

  “I don’t know, bud, I think that’s just too deep to think about right now, it’s makin’ my head ache.” Tristan lifted his head to smile at his friend turned lover and Danny smiled back,

  “I think my head is going to implode thinking about it, if my stomach doesn’t first.” Danny sat up and swung his legs so that he was once more sitting on the bed. Tristan did the same and stood, adjusting his shirt. He gazed at Danny, smiling,

  “Let’s go get something to eat, huh?”

  “Ok, be damned what anyone thinks, Tris. Like you said, babe, we have to face the world eventually.” He stood and walked to the door, “Better to do it together, show a united front so to speak.” He watched as Tristan’s expression softened and he closed the space between them to hold Danny in his arms.

  Being held that way by someone taller and stronger than him was quite possibly the weirdest feeling Danny had ever experienced. Having sex with another man was, admittedly, quite different, and weird too, but also very pleasant. He relaxed into the hold, slipping his arms around Tristan’s waist and holding him back. Tristan’s hold tightened and he buried his face into Danny’s short blond curls.

  Danny released his hold on the taller man and turned back to the door, as he placed his hand on the handle he turned back to face Tristan who was still standing where he had left him. Without a second thought Danny held out his hand to his friend; Tristan’s eyebrows raised slightly in surprise at what Danny was offering. They both knew that once they passed through their dorm room door holding hands the rest of the world would see for sure they were more than just friends and Danny’s gesture was telling him that, although he was nervous about going public, he actually didn’t care what anyone else thought. Tristan took the hand almost reverently, gasping as Danny laced their fingers together. He regarded Danny with wide blue eyes and they both smiled,

  “Ready to go?” Danny asked softly,

  “I’m ready for anything with you holding my hand.” Tristan grinned,

  “You do realise how cheesy that sounds don’t you?” Danny asked him, grinning back,

  “Everyone needs a little cheese in their lives.” Tristan quipped,

  “Can we please not talk about food until we get to the cafeteria?” Danny groaned and Tristan chuckled, pulling him through the door.

  Chapter 17: Diners, Exes, Coke and Boyfriends

  Two nights ago the campus cafeteria had been pretty much deserted when Danny and Tristan had gone down for dinner, and they had managed to avoid running into any of their friends. It had been by unspoken agreement that they would simply go, eat and return to their dorm room. Neither of them had felt up to meeting their friends that day anyway. Going out in public was enough for both of them without having to deal with awkward questions.

  Tonight though, exactly a week since the Halloween party that had started this all off, they had arranged to meet their friends in their favourite diner off campus. It was one that was a popular hangout for most of their circle of friends and acquaintances.

  As they walked hand in hand across the campus Danny glanced around to see if anyone noticed them but, apart from the odd cheery greeting from acquaintances, everyone was too busy getting on with their own lives to notice something as trivial as two guys holding hands. To him it was far from trivial though, not because he was holding a man’s hand but because he was holding Tristan’s hand. And when he looked up and saw the soft look in Tristan’s eyes he knew it was far from trivial for him either. They squeezed each other’s fingers and smiled,

  “This ain’t as bad as you thought it would be is it, bud?” Tristan asked his friend and Danny shook his head, smiling,

  “I feel a little bit antsy, but I’m fine, Tris.” He said quietly, “You do this all this time, it’s just new to me, but I think I could get used to it.” Tristan’s eyes sparkled,

  “I might do it all the time, but never with someone that means so much to me.” Danny looked up at him, his eyes a little misty,

  “Tris.” He exclaimed softly, stopping and turning to face him. He reached up and cupped his hand around Tristan’s neck and pulled him close.

  Tristan gasped as Danny placed a soft kiss on his lips,

  “Dan.” He whispered, folding his arms around him in a firm embrace and burying his face in Danny’s soft blond curls, “I wasn’t expectin’ you to even hold my hand in public, bud.”

  “Well, I did tell you that when it comes to you I want everything, Tris.” Danny told him, gazing into his deep blue eyes, “I’m not going to hide away in the closet, you don’t deserve that.” Tristan’s smile was positively radiant,

  “You know I would’ve respected your wishes if you wanted to keep it quiet for a while.” He said, brushing some strands of hair out of Danny’s eyes,

  “I know.” Danny nodded, “I just didn’t want you to think that I was ashamed or anything, because I’m not.” He chuckled, “I’m a little shell shocked, but never ashamed.” He regarded Tristan with a sideways glance as they resumed their journey, “You know your dad described you as a bit of a blur.”

  “Did he indeed?” Tristan chuckled, “He always did think I did everything at break neck speed. He’s always so methodical and thorough.”

  “There’s something to be said for methodical and thorough.” Danny mused,

  “Are we still talkin’ about my dad?” Tristan asked with a chuckle and a squeeze to Danny’s fingers,

  “Maybe, maybe not.” Danny had a wicked glint in his eye and Tristan laughed,

  “Danny Taylor, if I wasn’t so hungry I think I would like you to show me just exactly what you mean by methodical and thorough.”

  “Hmm, maybe later.” Tristan leaned close and whispered into Danny’s ear as they reached the door of the Diner,

  “I’ll hold you to that, Dan.”

  As they entered the busy diner Danny was blushing furiously and Tristan was grinning from ear to ear. Tristan released his grip on his friend’s fingers thinking that he would want to withdraw his hand in such a close, bustling place, but he did not and Tristan regarded him with a raised eyebrow. Danny had been telling the absolute truth about wanting everything out in the open. They were standing in a bustling public place, holding hands. As they both looked around though, no one appeared to be taking any notice.

  Frantic movement caught their attention and Danny pulled Tristan over to where Steph was waving furiously. Steph, Carly, Jason, Scott and Reuben all stood to greet their friends. None of them had seen Tristan since the attack so their hugs were tight and emotional. All of them were happy to see Tristan looking so well, if a little pale, after what had been such a traumatic time.

  When Tristan came face to face with Reuben they stood looking at each other for a little while. It had been Reuben’s level headedness and quick thinking that had quite possibly saved Tristan’s life and this was the first opportunity Tristan had had to actually thank him face to face. How exactly did you go about thanking someone for doing something so monumental though? Tristan felt a lump forming in his throat as he reached out and laid his hand on Reuben’s shoulder,

  “I don’t know what to say, Roo.” He said quietly, “Danny told me what you did.” Reuben simply gave a wry chuckle,

  “I was just glad we got to you in time, Tristan.” He said, with genuinely modest humility, “I just did what anyone else would have done in the same situation.” He pulled Tristan into a bear hug to hide his embarrassment,

  “Now, Roo, you know that isn’t true,” Danny piped in, unconsciously slipping his hand into Tristan’s again when Roo had released his hold on him. Danny was fully aware that he had gone completely to pieces when Tristan had stopped breathing, “You were the only one that kept your head.”

&nb
sp;