by Ruth Houston
"So?" Penny said.
Haylee threw her hands up in the air. "I don't know why I bother with you people!" she said dramatically before continuing, "Wilson's Private vs. Black Ridge High… think of the drama, people! There might be a fight that we'll miss if we're not there."
"Oh no," I said sarcastically. "We can't miss a fight."
"Not to mention all the absolutely gorgeous guys from Wilson's Private," Haylee continued as if I hadn't spoken.
"Oh joy," Jade muttered.
"That actually sounds like a good idea. Zach goes to Wilson's Private. He might be on their team," said Georgia excitedly.
"Hot guys; we have to go!" exclaimed Harry, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"I don't know, guys. Tristan's going to be there," I muttered. "I don't want to face him this soon."
"So what if he's there? Lucas will be there too," Georgia reminded me.
"Another reason I'm unsure," I said. "What if I make a complete fool out of myself in front of him… like every other time I see him."
Georgia groaned. "Amber, honey, Lucas likes you! He doesn't care if you're a clumsy idiot!"
"Thanks Georgia," I said sarcastically.
"Actually, Georgia's right, Amber," Harry said. "Lucas doesn't care if you make a fool out of yourself. If you ask me, I think he finds it attractive."
I made a face.
"Come on, you have to go," Georgia pleaded.
After several minutes of insistent begging, I finally gave in. "OK, OK, I'll go. Happy?"
"Yep!"
* * *
I dragged my feet along the hallway behind my friends, my eyes downcast. Even though Georgia had told me that Lucas wouldn't care if I made a fool out of myself this afternoon, I was still really, really nervous.
And also there was the fact of Tristan.
Well, let's face it: Lucas and Tristan just don't make the best pair to be in the same room as each other. I mean, Tristan goes all strange and starts pouring drinks over Lucas while Lucas is just trying his hardest to be his sweet old self. But I promised myself that if Tristan tried anything today I would make it my personal job to see that Tristan doesn't live for his eighteenth birthday.
"Come on, Amber, hurry up! We're going to miss it!" cried Haylee who was leading the group, obviously extremely eager to scope out all the hot guys from Wilson's Private.
We reached the hall and walked inside only to be greeted by a wave of noise that made my ears throb painfully. We made our way into the stands and sat in the middle of the second last row.
I made a face at the line of Veronica's friends who had self-appointed them as cheerleaders. Hello, we're in Australia for God's sakes, we don't have cheerleaders here! But there they were, shaking their butts that were hardly covered in their skimpy little shorts and catching the eye of every guy in the gym. Ashley was making an extra attempt to catch Tristan's eye and my stomach lurched as I surveyed him in his basketball uniform.
No, stop that! I silently scolded myself. You have a boyfriend.
Speaking of which… My eyes found Lucas immediately. He was stretching with the Wilson's Private boys on the opposite end of the court. He caught my eye and waved, grinning. I waved back.
"Lucas is such a sweetheart," Georgia commented, watching our silent exchange.
"Yeah…" I felt my eyes straying back to Tristan and mentally slapped myself.
"Let the games begin!" rumbled John Andrews's voice from the speakers that hung in the corners of the gym.
I rolled my eyes. John Andrews was the biggest toss you could ever meet. Just because he was the sports commentator, he thought he was the hottest guy in the school. But he wasn't, even though his thick glasses and acne gave him a little extra sexiness… joking!
I looked back to the court as the teams ran on to their positions, trying to block out John's arrogant voice as it drawled over the speakers, naming the players on court. When Tristan's name was called out, the 'cheerleaders' screamed their approval and began to do a cheer. Tristan waved at them and winked, earning another squeal.
"Oh my God, don't these people have a life?" I groaned to Harry.
Harry simple smirked and exchanged a meaningful look with Georgia over my head. Nonplussed, I asked, "What the hell did that look mean?"
I looked between both of my friends as they both shrugged, switching their eyes back to the game although their lips were still curled in annoyingly knowing smirks. I grumbled at my lack of information and returned my attention to the already-started game.
"Oh, go Zach! Go Zach!" called Georgia, finally spotting her one-and-only-love and waving her arms to get his attention.
Down on the court, Zach – obviously distracted from the game by Georgia's little show – turned to look at her, grinning shyly and waving slightly. This moment was ruined by the fact that one of the Wilson's Private's boys had thrown the ball at Zach as he turned, causing it to hit him full in the face.
The crowd "ooh"ed as the Wilson's Private coach called time and rushed on court to see if Zach was OK. When Zach waved the coach away the game started back up again but I wasn't watching for I had just earned a painful nudge in the ribs by Harry.
"What?" I groaned, turning to face him.
Harry was beaming from ear-to-ear as he gestured subtly to the cute guy who had just sat in the seat beside him. His cheeks were already taking on a reddish tinge.
The cute guy caught me looking at him and smiled with recognition. "Hey, aren't you Amber?"
Taken aback by the guy's knowledge of my name, I simply nodded, wondering if I knew him from somewhere.
Seeming to read my mind, the guy laughed and said, "No, you don't know me, but I feel as though I know you. Lucas talks about you all of the time. I'm Henry McGloclan; I'm from Wilson's Private."
"Oh, right. Hi," I said, blushing slightly.
"Yeah, you're so lucky," Henry continued, his eyes fixed on court.
I frowned. "Why?"
Henry glanced at me, frowning slightly. "Well, to have Lucas wrapped around your finger. I'm so jealous!"
I raised my eyebrows ever-so-slightly. "Don't you mean you're jealous of Lucas?"
Henry let out a booming laugh. "No, darling, I think you have the wrong idea," he chuckled, reaching over Harry and touching my knee. "I've been chasing after Lucas for years. But I guess I should just give up since you've snagged him. Oh well, there are plenty of fish in the sea, right?" He sighed. "It's just that none of those fish seem to swim my way."
Oh, so he's gay, I finally caught on. Glancing at Harry, I saw his grin had widened – if that were possible – and even though his eyes were on the game, I could swear I could see love hearts reflecting off them.
"Hey, Henry?" I said.
"Yes honey?"
"Have you met my friend Harry?" I asked, gesturing toward my blushing friend.
Henry looked at Harry for the first time and his eyes seemed to light up. "Well, I don't think I have. Hi, I'm Henry," he purred.
"H – Harry," stammered Harry, who was never really good at playing hard-to-get.
Smiling to myself, I decided to give them a private chat and focused my attention on the game.
Surprisingly enough – or to me, that is – Tristan had the ball and was dribbling it up to the net. The crowd was going wild. Lucas came up to defend Tristan as he lined up the shot and I found myself cheering against the crowd, yelling Lucas's name instead of Tristan's. I felt the glares of many girls on me but I didn't care.
Then, something strange happened. Many swore it was an accident and I thought it may have been too at the time, but after the other 'accidents' that followed during the game, I can see now that it definitely wasn't.
Anyway, Tristan was lining up the shot, frowning with concentration. Lucas was running over to defend him when Tristan threw the ball… but not toward the hoop. The basketball hit Lucas square in the face, knocking him to the ground.
I leapt to my feet in surprise as the Wilson's Private supporters roared with fury
and Black Ridge High yelled with approval. Tristan apologized furiously to Lucas and helped him up, but I caught the evil smirk he shot to his teammates behind Lucas's back.
"Why, that little bastard!" I screamed, my voice muffled by the people around me.
Georgia yanked me back into my seat before I could run down onto court to murder Tristan with my bare hands. I fumed silently as the game returned and was just calming down – slightly – when another 'accident' came into play.
Lucas had the ball and was sprinting down the caught when Tristan stepped in front of him, sticking out a foot and tripping him clear up. Lucas went sprawling to the floor, skidding a few feet before coming to a stop.
The Black Ridge team even had the nerve to come up to Tristan and pat him on the back slightly as Tristan again apologized to the forgiving Lucas. Lucas climbed to his feet and smiled to Tristan, excepting his apology.
I was back on my feet, being restrained by Harry, Georgia and Jade as I attempted to run down to the court. They finally managed to force me back into my seat where I sat, glaring at Tristan until I swear he had little holes in his head.
I was sure that Tristan wouldn't do anything again, for he had already had two warnings from the umpire and with another he would be sent off for the rest of the game. Even though, I still fully intended to give him a good ass-kicking at home.
But a few minutes later, Tristan proved me wrong.
He didn't even have the ball! Neither did Lucas! But as Lucas was jogging down the court, following the ball with his eyes, Tristan once again stepped in front of his path and instead of just tripping him, he punched him straight in the face.
This time, even the team was unsure. They watched uncertainly as the umpire dragged Tristan off the court and the Wilson's Private coach supported Lucas onto the sidelines. Lucas was sporting a bleeding nose.
My friends didn't even attempt to restrain me as I leapt to my feet and hurried down the isle to the steps of the stands, running down to the wooden floor below. Tristan was breathing heavily and pacing back and forth, throwing dark looks at the umpire and to where Lucas sat with a bloody rag on the other side of the court.
I ran straight up to Tristan and pushed him in the chest, yelling in his face. Luckily I didn't attract any attention because the crowd was too consumed in the ongoing game.
"HOW DARE YOU? HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO LUCAS? HE HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING TO YOU IN HIS LIFE! WHAT IN THE HELL IS YOUR FREAKIN' PROBLEM?!" I shrieked, pushing Tristan's chest every so often to add effect.
Tristan just stood there, watching me and taking all the shoves I threw at him until I stopped ranting, only because I had run out of breath. By this time, Lucas had nearly reached us.
"You done?" Tristan said calmly.
My insides boiled with anger at his infuriatingly calm expression. I drew back a hand and slapped him clear across the face.
"Amber! Amber, don't!" called Lucas, jogging the rest of the way over to us and holding me back as I was obviously ready to hit Tristan again.
Tristan was holding his hand to his reddening cheek and studying me with an unreadable expression. I was surprised to find I had tears of fury swimming in my eyes, I was so worked up.
Tristan gave a heavy sigh. "Oh God, am I going to have to sleep on the lounge again?"
I narrowed my eyes at him, struggling against Lucas's grip, desperate to slap that calm expression off his face once again.
"What do you mean, sleep on the lounge again?" Lucas asked with a frown.
"Oh, hasn't Amber told you?" Tristan asked in a surprised tone. "I've been living at her place for a month now."
Lucas, in his surprise, loosened his grip on my arms and I had nearly reached Tristan when he tugged me back again, his arms wrapped firmly around my waist. I was relaxed ever-so-slightly by his touch, but I was still seeing red.
"Is that so?" Lucas asked coolly. "Well, I don't mind. I trust Amber completely."
Tristan shrugged. "Oh, of course. Yeah, even though we sleep in the same bedroom there's nothing to worry about in there. Nothing happens in our beds. It's the lounge you have to worry about, right Amber?" He winked at me.
My eyes widened and I shouted, "I can't believe the nerve of you! That was weeks ago and, believe me, I will never get close enough to you for that to happen again!"
Even as I said this, I felt Lucas's hold loosen and I stepped out from his embrace. Glancing back at him, I saw unmistakable hurt cross his face and I realised how much Tristan had screwed up our relationship.
I whirled back to Tristan, my voice trembling with anger as I snarled, "I'm so glad you're leaving tomorrow."
Tristan laughed. "What? Didn't your Mum tell you? I'm staying for another week."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Luckily, Tristan staying for another week didn't affect me… much.
OK, so Lucas and I ran into some problems because of Tristan's little 'lounge' comment, but we worked that out in almost no time. Mostly because Lucas is such an amazing, sweet and totally forgiving guy. I'm so lucky to have him.
As for Tristan staying for another week because his house wasn't entirely ready yet, well, that worked out alright. I hardly spent my time at home anyway. I was either over Georgia's or with Lucas. Harry's house was out of the picture because Henry and he… well, let's just say they hit it off straight away and were now spending every waking moment with each other. Georgia and Zach were still going out but she still made time for our best friend (me).
So, overall, most of my problems had been erased, smoothed over or buried for the time being. That is, until I walked into school on Friday morning.
I skipped into school, ecstatic about the fact that this particular day was the day that Tristan would be leaving for his new home. He had even given me the day off from having to deal with him at school by staying home to pack all his things away. I tried not to think of the fact that even once he had moved into his new house, he would still be attending Black Ridge High.
I didn't even notice people looking at me strangely and giggling behind my back as I chatted to Georgia and Harry. Nor did I realise the many, brightly coloured posters that were stuck up all around the school…
I started to get slightly suspicious that something was wrong in second period when I felt dozens of eyes on me and heard carrying whispers that seemed to have my name involved in them. Hey, call me paranoid, but my History teacher seemed to have noticed as well.
"Can everyone please take their eyes off Amber for two seconds and focus on me?" Mr. Harper begged after trying to teach a class of distracted students for forty-five minutes.
Frowning in confusion, I looked around only to see everyone look away from me quickly, some of them stifling a giggle.
I leant over and whispered in Jade's ear, "Do I have food on my face or something?"
Jade stared at me for a few seconds before shrugging and replying, "No."
I sighed. Obviously she hadn't noticed the fact that everyone had been ogling at me for the entire lesson. This probably wasn't helped by the fact that Jade spent most of her lessons asleep on her books. The teachers had pretty much just learned to leave her when she was in such a state and I knew better than to disturb her again.
So I moved on to Penny, who was sitting on my other side.
"Do you know why they've all been staring at me?" I asked in a low whisper.
"Shhh! Amber, I'm trying to listen," hissed Penny, her eyes fixed on the board, flicking to her History book every now and then as she jotted down notes.
Rolling my eyes, I reached behind Penny and tapped Georgia on the shoulder, meaning to ask her the same question.
Looking around wildly at my tapping, Georgia said, "Zach?" Upon seeing it was me, she sighed heavily and returned to drawing what looked like Georgia & Zach Forever scrawled inside a love heart.
I rolled my eyes. She's a lost cause, I thought hopelessly. I settled back in my chair and felt everyone's eyes flick back to me.
What the hell is wrong
with everyone today?
* * *
I walked out of History with my head hung low, hugging my books to my chest and shuffling my feet. Jade, Penny and Georgia walked on around me, obviously unaware that anything was wrong.
So this is what it feels like to be an outcast, I thought glumly as a group of girls who I didn't even know snickered as they walked past, staring openly at me.
As I followed my friends down the hallway, doing my best to keep my eyes downcast, I heard running footsteps approaching. Curious, I looked up to see Harry panting heavily as he ran towards us.
"What's wrong?" Georgia asked, obviously referring to the worried and sad look Harry wore on his face.
Harry, however, rushed straight past her and enveloped me in a large hug. "I'm so sorry, honey," he said, stroking my back in a comforting way. "He's such an asshole, I know."
Frowning, I waited for Harry to release me before saying, "Harry, what the hell are you on about? Why are you sorry? Who's an asshole?"
I watched as Harry's face fell and he bit his lip.
"You haven't seen them yet, have you?" he said quietly.
"Seen what?"
Harry silently pointed to the wall behind me. I turned around slowly and my stomach dropped somewhere past the floor.
There, on the wall, was a bright pink poster with Amber Jones printed clearly above a picture of me, obviously taken out of the yearbook. Red lip marks covered the poster but that wasn't the worst of it.
Underneath my picture, the following was writing in bold writing:
Call me a thief… Amber Jones sure did when I stole her first kiss
"Pucker up, huh, Jones?" called a faceless passer-by who was only one of the people yelling things out at me.
I didn't hear them. As I stared up at the poster, utterly speechless, only one thing crossed my mind:
Tristan.
* * *
I stormed up the staircase to the second floor. I didn't even care about keeping the sound down as I crashed down the hallway to my bedroom, even thought it wouldn't have mattered because everyone was out anyway.
