Trae-Mike Relationship

The **Trae-Mike Relationship**, also known as **Trike**, is the romantic relationship between Trae Ventura and Mike Daugherty. The pair first meet in The Feminist Manifesto, where Mike compliments Trae for his looks. Despite the fact that they are in different cliques (Trae is in The Savages and Mike is in The Moneybags), the two garnered mutual respect for each other. Mike developed romantic feelings for Trae overtime despite complications with Zachary Foxx.

## Overview

### Season One

Mike and Trae first meet after bumping into each other in the hallways of James A. Masters High School. Exchanging friendly and flirty banter, Mike compliments Trae for his looks, while Trae acknowledges Mike's accent as he is a foreign exchange student. Despite their affiliation with both The Savages and The Moneybags, Mike appears throughout the season very friendly and interested in Trae as a person. After Trae is shot during the riot, and he is hospitalized, Mike asks Carl Touché about him and asks him to send his condolences if he can.

### Season Two

Although Trae and Mike do not interact until the near-end of the season, flashbacks continue to hint at Mike's sudden interest in Trae during the events of The Night He Was Murdered, as he asks about Trae's well-being to Lily Blossom during Felix's farewell party. Although it seems to hint at Mike wanting to get to know Trae in the future and that he has a crush on him, Lily doesn't read into it as she has a crush on Mike as well. Mike gives in to Lily months after the events of Felix's death and goes on prom with Lily instead, thus putting Mike's interest in Trae at a halt.

### Season Three

Trae and Mike reconnect when they both join The Red Onion under Maya Hastings' leadership. Although the two seem to appear to get along like before, Trae becomes competitive with Mike in the beginning when it comes to impressing Maya, who doesn't seem fond of a former Savage taking over the newspaper. Mike, meanwhile, becomes Maya's favorite, and it makes Trae feel like there is bias involved. Trae and Mike both bond eventually over their mutual annoyance from Maya and both realize they have more in common than they thought when it comes to journalism. However, Trae feels awkward with Mike knowing that he's a part of The Savages as a new member, and Mike promises not to speak of the clique in front of him if it makes him uncomfortable.

Secret feelings start to spur for Mike again despite his relationship with Lily, and Trae's relationship with Joe Bender, who Mike didn't seem to be fond of after finding out he was dating Trae. The exposé written by Alex Herrera makes Mike distance himself socially from Trae, giving passive aggressive behavior to him that Trae doesn't take well. When Trae becomes a target of racism and homophobia, however, Mike has a change of heart and wants to help Trae fight back a secret group of trolls who continue to antagonize him. Within the newspaper, he and Maya team up to help Trae as he joins Sydney Prescott's class presidential campaign.

At this point, Trae opens up to Mike about his life and his PTSD stemming from being shot by a police officer, and Mike develops an emotional attraction to him. Throughout the rest of the season, Mike and Trae become very close friends, especially after Trae returns to the Savages for the second time, but Mike secretly wants more despite their obstacles Lily and Joe.

### Season Four

The Savages go to New York for Christmas vacation, but Mike and Trae become career-driven as they plan a tour to one of the mosdt prestigious journalism outlets: The New York Times newspaper. After their tour, Trae and Mike's friendship becomes closer as they share a night out together and perform karaoke. After the night out, Mike attempts to kiss Trae, and he rejects it. Defeated, Mike tries to do damage control and apologizes to Trae. Although Trae forgives him and brushes it off as a slip up, he, himself, struggles to admit that he almost reciprocated the kiss. Throughout the vacation, Trae and Mike maintain a civil friendship and a professional bond for the sake of journalism, but it's clear Trae and Mike mutually have interest in each other. Trae starts to question his own feelings for Joe, knowing that he doesn't feel romantically attached to him like he used to anymore, mainly because of Joe's lack of support for him and his anti-racism.

Awkwardness ensues between Trae and Mike after they return home for the next semester, as Trae continues to fight off conflicting feelings for Mike, who stands strong on his feelings. Trae's dilemma worsens when he feels detached from Joe.