Next To You

Tristan

It was officially a new semester, they were now halfway through the school year. That first morning, there was a large crowd gathering in the school courtyard. Heather was walking down the hall with Mya and Eoin when she heard the shouting; a fight had broken out.

Mr. Hanna, and some other teachers had burst through the crowd and were trying to break it up.

"I wonder who it could be?" Mya thought out loud.

They stood nearby as Mr. Hanna had one of the students by his shirt collar. It was definitely a new student, none of them had seen him before. He had onyx black hair, some of it covered his face. He glanced over in their direction, that's when he saw Heather. Their eyes met briefly, she gasped.

"It couldn't be," she said to herself, she shook her head and turned away.

Mya noticed it, but Eoin was too busy trying to see who the other student was. It was one of his teammates, disheveled from the experience.

"Hey, Jenks, what was that all about?" He asked firmly.

"The new kid was giving me attitude, so I tried putting him back in his place," Jenks said as Mr. Florian motioned for him to follow.

Eoin turned around and found Heather gone, "where'd she go?"

Mya shrugged and walked away. He found Heather by the vice principal's office.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her as he reached her side.

"I think I know this new kid, so I volunteered to look out for him and keep him out of trouble," she was sympathetic.

"How do you know him? Who is he?" Eoin felt anxious.

Before she could answer, the vice principal stepped out with the new kid behind him, "I've entrusted you to one of our top students, Mr. Gallagher, perhaps you could learn something from her. Heather, this is Tristan Gallagher. Tristan Gallagher, this is Heather Shannon."

Tristan stared at her in stunned silence. He couldn't believe he was standing face to face with her again, after so many years. The vice principal returned to his office as they all stood in the hall together.

He finally spoke, "it really is you, I'd recognize those eyes anywhere."

Eoin watched with a puzzled expression on his face, "how do you two know each other?"

"Eoin, this is Tristan, we lived next door to each other as children. I can't believe I'm seeing you again after so long. How have you been?" she said excitedly.

"There's just so much that has happened, I don't know where to begin," Tristan ran a hand through his hair and gave a shy half-smile. Some girls might have called it a smolder.

He wanted to throw his arms around her and cover her in kisses, but the tall red-headed guy prevented him from following through with it. He seemed like he was close with Heather and might appreciate what he was thinking.

Tristan put his hands in his pockets and stared up at Eoin, "so who'd you say you were?"

"I'm Eoin, Heather's boyfriend," he said defensively.

He raised an eyebrow at Heather, "boyfriend? Wow, look at you all grown up and dating. Well, congrats to both of you. I'm going to class now."

He started walking off when she grabbed his sleeve, "um, I have a copy of your schedule, and your first class is this way."

Tristan rolled his eyes, he knew where it was, but he wasn't actually planning on going. Seeing Heather with another guy was upsetting, but he was going to keep his feelings to himself like he always had. Then he remembered, she always had a way of seeing right through him.

He followed her to the classroom and was further discouraged to find out she wasn't going to be in the same class. He sat at a desk in the back row and slouched in his chair. At least she would be waiting for him after class.

He turned to a girl sitting next to him, "do you know which class Heather is in?"

The girl irritably twirled her hair around her finger without looking up and scoffed, "she's in all the advanced classes, you'll never see her in here." She peered up and got a good look at him, then smiled flirtatiously, "I'm Deborah, by the way."

The teacher came in and closed the door, "good morning class, we have a new student, Tristan Gallagher, please stand up so everyone can see you and learn your face. Everyone join me in welcoming, Mr. Gallagher."

"Hello Tristan Gallagher," they all droned together.

Tristan stood up and nodded, then returned back to his seat with a sigh. He didn't want to be in that classroom. The girls all had their eyes on him, and he recognized the way they looked at him. He was the bad boy, they gave him looks of fear and fascination. He was the type of guy girls used to spite their parents, they expected to feel exhilarated by the thrill of rebellion, or they thought they could change him. He didn't care either way though, he never let any of them get close with him.

As soon as class ended, he saw Heather coming down the stairs talking to another guy. She brought him over to Tristan, much to his dismay.

"Tristan, this is our student body President, Ivan Tanner, he's a good person to know," she introduced him.

"Tristan Gallagher, welcome to North Ridge, it's a pleasure to meet you," Ivan extended his hand with a bright smile.

Tristan shook his hand stiffly, "hello."

Heather could see he was trying to keep his distance from everyone. He seemed to have no interest in being friendly.

She turned to Ivan to end the awkward silence, "I'll see you at the committee meeting later Ivan, good luck with your oral presentation."

"Thanks Heather, I'll see you then. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day Tristan," he waved as he walked away.

"Committee meeting? Really? For what?" He teased her.

Heather smirked and shook her head, "it's an event planning committee, we're starting early on the carnival for the end of the school year. Don't act so surprised, you know I have a knack for organization."

"First of all, we were just kids, what would we really need to organize? Secondly, you're forgetting how many years it's been. I still can't get over how different you are now. We really need to catch up, how are your parents doing?" He asked as they walked to his next class.

Heather's heart stopped, it really had been that long. She bit her lip, in an attempt to stop the rush of emotion. She tightly held her books to her chest. Before she could say anything, the warning bell rang.

"I promise we will soon, but I really need to get to class now," she forced a smile, then quickly walked away.

Tristan was annoyed at how friendly everyone was acting toward him. He had no intention of becoming friends with anyone, it would never last anyway. After being passed from relative to relative over a number of years, being transferred from school to school, he grew tired of people and stopped caring. But through it all, there was one person he truly cared for, and he knew she would always be there for him, that person was Heather.

It hardly seemed real to find himself in the same place as her again. For a while, he started giving up on the idea altogether. When he saw her that morning, he thought he was dreaming. When she spoke to him he thought he would burst. Then reality came crashing down when he saw that guy with her, even more when he said the dreaded words, he was her boyfriend. Of course he had to joke it off, he didn't know how else to respond.

For lunch period, Heather met him outside one of his classes again. She was a lot quieter than before, and more serious.

Tristan cleared his throat and joked, "is it really that bad having me here?"

Heather gave a sad smile, "no, that's not it at all. I'm actually really happy to see you again, Tristan, I've been worried about you, and I'm glad you're okay. Who are you staying with now?"

"That's right," he thought to himself, "she was there right after my parents died." He rubbed his neck uncomfortably, "my Aunt Morrigan and her boyfriend. It's in the part of town with all the low-income housing."

"Oh, I see. I'll have to stop by and say hello sometime. Do you have a lunch?" Heather was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"No, but I'm fine, it's no big deal. Besides, I don't have enough."

"It is, you should eat something, I can help pay," she said insistently.

"Those eyes, dammit Heather, I could never say no to them," Tristan thought to himself again. He sighed, "actually, I don't have any money for lunch."

"That's okay, I can get you a lunch," she reassured him. "I won't take no for an answer."

Heather got into the line and started grabbing things for him. Tristan turned red as he stood off to the side. Then Eoin stepped in line behind her as she was about to pay.

"You're buying a lunch? You always bring one from home though," he said skeptically. "I can pay for that."

Heather protested, but he had already pulled out his wallet and paid the person, then grabbed the tray for her.

"Thanks Eoin, but that was really unnecessary, I'm going to pay you back," she grabbed the tray from him and handed it to Tristan.

Tristan turned redder, he felt like people were watching him, and she knew she had made him uncomfortable.

She smiled apologetically at him and spoke loud enough for people to hear her, "I can carry it myself, but thank you both for offering."

They went to sit down at the table where her and Mya usually sat. It was in a far corner next to a pillar, which offered a little privacy and solitude. Heather waited for everyone to lose interest, then slid the tray over to Tristan and pulled out her own lunch. Eoin suddenly realized what had just happened and went quiet.

Mya joined them soon after and immediately felt the tension between the three of them, "so, what did I miss?"

"Mya, this is Tristan, remember that little boy from next door I told you about?" Heather hinted, trying to be subtle.

"Yeah... Wait, this is the guy?" She turned to him and smiled, "nice to meet you Tristan, I'm Mya, her current best friend."

Tristan nodded, "nice to meet you too."

Eoin stared him down from across the table, he felt like there had to be more between them than what they said, he didn't like the way he felt at that moment.

He acted like he wasn't bothered by it though, and continued to do things as he usually did. He walked Heather to her meeting on his way to practice. But he became annoyed when he came back afterward and found Tristan waiting for her.

He attempted small talk, "so, how has your first day been?"

"Fine," Tristan answered plainly.

"Not much for talking, are you?" Eoin teased.

Tristan answered with a bored look, then awkwardly glanced around as they continued to wait.

"Do you like any sports?" Eoin attempted again.

"Not really. Look, I get it, you're only talking to me because I have a history with Heather, you can drop the act. I know it's bothering you, I'm not an i***t," Tristan glared.

"Listen up man, you don't know me, so don't assume things about me. You're obviously someone Heather cares about, and sure, I may not like it, but I'm just trying to be friendly here," Eoin said bluntly.

Tristan stood as tall as he could and stood face to face with him, "I'll assume whatever I want, and you're wasting your time Mr. Popular, go be friendly with your own friends, I'm sure you have plenty of them."

"I'm starting to see how Jenks got into a fight with you. He's usually pretty relaxed, too."

"You know that jerk? I'm not surprised. Jocks, they think they deserve all the admiration and respect, just because they're good at some stupid sport. Well, while you're all standing up there on your imaginary pedestals, there are real people with real talent, that actually means something to people, scraping by and trying to earn their way in this world. Do us all a favor and get over yourselves," Tristan growled.

They heard voices and people moving towards the door they were standing in front of. They moved out of the way as it opened and people poured out into the hall. Heather was one of the last ones exiting. She saw their expressions and froze.

"Is everything alright?" She fretted.

Eoin smiled at her and pretended like it was nothing, "everything's fine. How was your meeting?"

She eyed them suspiciously, but smiled back, "okay. My meeting was fun, although I can't say we accomplished a lot."

"Well, at least you had fun, I'm glad to hear that."

They all walked out together. She knew they had been talking to each other, and she could sense there was something going on between them. Mya came out with Ivan, cheerful as usual, but more reserved. They caught up to them.

Tristan felt like an outsider again. It dawned on him that Heather had her own life, her own friends, and he couldn't expect to just fit right in with all of them, especially after so long. He had been observing her all day whenever he got the chance. People liked her, valued her, looked up to her, even though he was only a few feet away from her, it felt like she was still far away from him. He'd never be able to keep up with her.

"Hey Heather, I'm going to head home now, I'll see you tomorrow," he said to her, right before he turned a corner.

"Oh, okay. Bye Tristan," she said as she watched him walk away.

Everyone said goodbye to him too, then continued talking to each other. Eoin could see the concern in her expression.

After Mya and Ivan left, Heather turned to Eoin, "so, what do you think of Tristan?"

"He seems nice," he answered vaguely, as they walked onto Main Street.

"I'm serious Eoin, what did you two talk about while you were waiting for me?"

"Okay, honestly, I was just trying to have a nice conversation with him, but something set him off. It seems like he has a strong prejudice against jocks, for whatever reason, but he's definitely angry about something. That's just my opinion though," he hadn't planned on telling her, but he couldn't lie to her.

She felt embarrassed, she wasn't sure why, "he wasn't like that before, but I'm sure he has experienced a lot of difficult things since we were children, much like I have."

Eoin nodded, "if there's one thing I've learned from you, there's always a reason behind the way people act towards others. I hope he gets the help that he needs."

"Me too. I should get to work now, I'll talk to you later," she said as they stopped in front of the gym.

Eoin smiled at her and kissed her forehead, "I'll be counting on it. Until then, goodbye my fair Ms. Librarian."

Heather smirked and shook her head, wondering what people nearby were thinking, hearing such a silly, albeit, unimaginative nickname, but she loved it, because Eoin had given it to her.

She waited for Tristan the next morning, but he didn't show up. It was almost halfway through the day when she saw him walking down the hall.

"Tristan, what happened to you this morning? I was waiting for you," she said as she caught up to him.

"Oh... I overslept, sorry," he kept walking and didn't even look at her.

She grabbed his shirt and tugged on it, "Tristan, wait. If you're not doing anything later, maybe we could catch up, I'd really like to talk with you."

"You mean after school?" He had stopped and turned to face her.

"Yes, well it would be in the evening, we could grab some tea or coffee, or a meal, whatever you prefer. Only if you want to, of course," she shifted her books and bag, waiting for an answer.

"Will there be anyone else joining us?"

She knew who he meant, "no, just me. Is that okay?"

"What time?" He asked, more gruffly than he intended to.

"About 7, when my shift ends. Alright?" She felt relief when he agreed to it.

"Shift? You have a job?" He was surprised.

"Oh, yeah, I work a few days a week, and every other weekend. Actually, you can meet me there, I'll give you the address," she opened a notebook and awkwardly tried to write it down while trying to hold everything.

Tristan's face softened and he held out his hands, "here, let me help you with those."

Deborah and Bethany were spying on them from around a corner, "I don't believe this, he's making plans with her, and holding her books, that is such crap."

Bethany tapped Deborah's shoulder, "what's the big deal, Deb? That goody goody is probably just being nice, he is the new kid, and I heard that Vice Principal Chapman asked her to keep an eye on him because of that fight."

"No, it's more than that, they know each other somehow. Now that Honora has turned weak and has her precious new boyfriend, it's up to us to put Heather in her place," Deborah sneered.

Bethany rolled her eyes as Deborah continued watching Tristan. All throughout the day, she kept obsessing over it. Finally, Bethany approached Devon about it.

"Normally, I wouldn't say anything, but Deb has become a little crazy for that new guy, Tristan."

"The one who sucker punched Jenks?" He asked.

Bethany nodded, "she's been following him around all day, spying on him."

Devon went in search of his sister and found her just as Bethany had told him, "Deb, just what are you trying to accomplish here?"

"I'm just trying to get close to someone. I'm tired of the guys here, having someone new is a nice change," she answered defiantly.

"You don't know anything about him. What makes you even think this is a good idea?"

Eoin came up behind them and found them peering around the corner, "what's so interesting?"

Deborah smirked, "perfect timing, Flannery, take a look for yourself."

Eoin peeked around the corner and saw Heather hand a piece of paper to Tristan. There was nothing strange about it as far as he could see, he gave Deborah and Devon a puzzled look, "well?"

Devon shrugged, Deborah just smiled coldly, "I heard them make plans to meet up with each other later on, this evening."

His eyes narrowed as he looked down at her, "so you're telling me you were eavesdropping on my girlfriend's private conversation with her friend? Devon are you part of this?"

"Actually, I've only been standing here for a couple of minutes, I didn't hear anything that may have been said between those two," Devon explained.

Deborah shrank under his stare. It was definitely not the reaction she was expecting, her plan had backfired.

"I just thought you'd like to know, clearly I've wasted my time," she composed herself, then flipped her hair and walked away.

Tristan walked home after school. When he approached his Aunt's little run-down house, he could hear the shouting and crashing of breaking glass. He sighed and walked in as another beer bottle was thrown, shattering as it hit the wall.

"Knock it off! The neighbors are going to call the cops again!" He shouted as he shut himself in his room.

He guessed by Morrigan's shouting, she had caught her boyfriend cheating again. The front door slammed and it went quiet. He came out and found her cleaning up the broken glass with her makeup running down her face.

He knelt down and started helping her, "are you finally done with that jerk?"

Morrigan sniffed, "I'm sorry Tristan, he just went to the bar to drink again. I never meant for this to happen. I don't want to live like this anymore, but I'm afraid if I try to throw him out, he'll do something crazy."

"I'm not an i***t, you just don't want to be alone, but this isn't worth it, Aunt Morrigan. All he does is treat you like garbage and freeload off of you," he got up and grabbed a broom.

Morrigan grabbed a tissue and started wiping her face with it, "you're right, that's the only reason I keep putting myself through all this heartbreak. Anyway, how was school today?"

"Fine," he answered shortly.

Morrigan watched him carefully, she knew he didn't mean it, and yet, he didn't seem as miserable as he usually was.

She decided to change the subject, "I got that waitressing job at the diner, so I'll be working a lot more hours. Got to pay the bills somehow."

"Hey, I said I'd get a job and help out," Tristan snapped. "Why'd you have to get another job?"

"We're barely scraping by, Tristan, you know this. I can't wait to see if you get a job or not, besides, I gave your grandparents my word that you'd focus more on your education and stay out of trouble," Morrigan replied firmly.

"Yeah, and how would you see to that if you're working yourself to death?"

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "I suppose I couldn't physically, but I signed you up for the high school's tutoring program, please don't fight me on this, Tristan, I don't have the time or the energy. I have to get ready for work now, make sure you do your homework. You can have the leftover pizza in the fridge for dinner."

She kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair, then went into her room to get ready for work. He finished cleaning up the broken glass and returned to his room to change out of his school uniform. Morrigan left for work within the hour.

He tried to do some homework, but quickly became bored with it and experimented with chords on his guitar. When it turned 6:30, he grabbed his house key and left. He looked for the address Heather gave him and found himself in front of Fitzwalter's Gym.

"Heather works here?" He looked through the window and saw her walk through the employee door to the back.

Then he heard a door open on the side of the building, in the alleyway. He peered around the corner and found Heather throwing some boxes into the recycling. He checked his watch, 6:55, he was still a little early.

He waited a little while, then heard Heather's voice as she came out the employee entrance with two other guys, she smiled as she spotted him, "Tristan, I'm so glad you could meet me here. This is Scotty and Toby, this is their family's gym, guys, this is Tristan, he used to live next door to me when we were just kids. Goodnight guys, until next time."

"Nice to meet you Tristan, goodnight Beast-girl," they laughed and walked away.

Tristan raised an amused eyebrow, "Beast-girl?"

Heather blushed and smiled, happy to see a glimmer of happiness from him, "it's just a silly joke, no big deal. Are you hungry?"

"It's okay, Heather, I've got some food at home. I don't want you to make a habit out of paying for me," he turned serious again.

"Don't worry, I won't. I just thought, since I'm the one who asked you to come out here, I should, at the very least, feed you," she smiled reassuringly.

Reluctantly, he agreed, "alright then, but I owe you two meals now."

"You really don't though Tristan. It's fine, really."

"We could go back and forth all night babe, but it won't change anything, I've already given you my word. I always pay my debts, even if it takes me years to do so," he said as they stopped outside the diner.

They sat at a table and ordered their food. Heather felt anxious, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to tell him everything. She let Tristan talk first.

"So, what have you been up to all these years?"

"Wow, where to start. Well, ever since that day you and your parents moved, I've never stopped thinking about you. I've always hoped we'd see each other again. Anyway, I've been moving around all over the place, every time I'd get into the smallest bit of trouble, I was sent packing, off to the next distant relative, I've been to several different schools in just the past few years alone. It's been rough, but I was able to get through it with my music. I've got notebooks filled with songs I've written, do you still sing?" He asked as the waitress set their food down in front of them.

"Not often, when I do it's usually for a cause. I'm glad you kept up with your music. It's sad to hear you had to go through so much though," she smiled sadly.

Tristan shrugged it off, "yeah, that makes two of us. What have you been up to? How are your parents?"

Her eyes turned noticeably sadder, "after a few years of living with my grandparents, my mom found out she had cancer. The stress got to her and her condition just kept getting worse. She passed away four years ago. About six months later, my dad left on a cargo plane, headed overseas. It disappeared, and my father along with it. No one has been able to find the wreckage or his body. So, it's just been me living with my grandparents. I met Mya when I was 12, and we've been really close since then. I tried sending you letters, but they were all sent back. Since you've moved so much, I suppose that's the reason why. That's basically my life, since you've been gone."

He reached over and grabbed her hand, "Heather... I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

"How could you have known? It's okay, I've made my peace with it. You shouldn't blame yourself though, it wasn't your fault," she could feel a dull pain in her chest, but kept her composure as she patted his hand and pulled hers away. "I met Eoin earlier this school year, and he's a very sweet, thoughtful person. We've had our share of challenges so far, but it's been going really well."

"Oh. I still can't get over how much you've changed."

"But I haven't really, I can see a lot of a change in you though. I heard about how you behaved towards him, what happened to you? Why are you so angry? I hope I'm not too forward in asking," she waited expectantly for an explanation.

Tristan paused, he clenched his jaw and looked away from her, "there was one thing that was constant, in every place I lived, every school I went to, the bullies who harassed me and humiliated me, and everyone else who wasn't like them, were jocks, so yeah, I hate people like that."

"How did you get into a fight with that jock yesterday morning?"

"I didn't like the way he was talking to his girl, and he called me trash when I asked him if he talked to his mother that way," Tristan scowled at the thought of him.

"I'm sure you thought you were doing the right thing, Tristan, but you should've told a teacher, rather than taking it into your own hands, trying to confront somebody like that, will only cause more problems," she fretted. She was worried about him more than ever now.

He rolled his eyes, "getting a teacher won't solve the problem. He's an athlete, the worst he'll get is a slap on the wrist. I've tried it before Heather, it doesn't do anything."

She was disappointed he felt that way. They finished their meal in silence. As they parted ways, she realized just how much she missed the old Tristan.

He took her by surprise when he stopped and turned to face her again, "do you still have those letters?"

"Yes, somewhere. Why?"

"I'd like to read them," he said as he turned away once again, and started walking home.

She watched him leave. There were things he wasn't telling her, she felt it. It had to be more than just being bullied, something else that filled him with so much anger and hate. It worried her, was her childhood friend really gone? She didn't want to believe it, there were still traces of him there. She wasn't ready to give up on bringing him back, maybe the letters were just what he needed.