by Geri Watson
"Why are you acting like such a jerk? It's not like I lied. We've been friends forever and...well... you aren't exactly a social person, Tristan!" she stamped her foot.
He looked down at her foot and back up at her. "Well, maybe I'm trying to change. That thought ever cross your mind?"
Emily stuck her chin out. "No."
Tristan sighed and ran his hand over his face. "Look, Em. I'm sorry if I came across as mean to you. I have a lot on my mind right now, and I don't want to talk about it. Alright?"
Emily eyed him. "Does this have to do with why you missed class the other day?"
He looked up at the sky, wishing she'd drop it. "Yes."
"Are you feeling better today? You had me worried yesterday," she changed the subject.
"I'm fine. Just lay off already!" Tristan erupted.
He turned away from her and looked back over toward the other building.
Emily stood there for another minute, but when she finally caught on that Tristan wasn't moving until she was, she headed in the opposite direction toward the parking deck. He looked down at his watch and figured Star was already out of class and now he'd missed his chance to catch up with her. She hadn't specified when "later" was when they had talked before class. He would have liked to have lunch with her at least. But he wasn't so sure if the guy that had been holding the door was Zack, her boyfriend Alex, or just another classmate. Either way, she could still be with him, and randomly popping up again might not be such a good idea. He flinched. Why couldn't this be easier?
Considering he had a few hours to kill before his next class, Tristan headed to his car to drop off his books and figure out what to do next. Once there, he deposited his books and leaned against the car.
Recalling his conversation with Emily, he knew he'd been too harsh to her. In all honesty, he probably hadn't spoken to anyone else with her around. She had always been his lab partner, and she always sat next to him, so when would he have had a chance to talk to anyone else?
Still, Tristan hadn't gone out of his way to make any friends either. Now that he thought about it, the past three years had been pretty lonely living. High School was too. He never considered that he was shy, but maybe that was the impression that he left to other people. He'd never felt lonely. Tristan had always been perfectly happy holing up in the library or just sitting at home.
At that moment he realized two things about himself. The first being that he was the biggest nerd he'd ever known, the second: he didn't want to be that person anymore.
CHAPTER 9
Star headed toward the restaurant that she, Zack, Alyssa, and Alex always met up on Fridays for lunch. It was a routine that happened accidentally at first. The restaurant was popular with the college crowd, and the food was excellent and cheap. She and Zack had discovered it a few weeks after they'd moved into their apartment and figured it was a perfect spot to eat after their 11:00 classes.
Alyssa had wandered in one day and found them in their usual seats and joined them. They had such a good time together that she decided to start meeting them there. As she got busier with the sorority, she had to cut it down to only Fridays.
When Star had been showing Alex around as a guide, she had brought him with her, and they all hit it off so well that Alex started making it a routine to meet them on Fridays as well. The rest of the week he had other things that he was involved in between classes. As she walked, Star suddenly felt a breeze and found herself airborne and staring at the pavement. She squirmed, and her assailant set her down.
"You really should be more aware of your surroundings," Alex grinned at her.
"Why do you and Zack constantly insist on throwing me around?" she asked, a little miffed.
"Aw, because you're so cute and tiny and easy to toss around. We can't help ourselves." Alex's grin widened, and she wondered if Zack was behind her about to do something.
As if on cue, a pair of hands covered her eyes. Star went to pull them off, and he attacked her neck, making her squeak and smack him away.
"Ugh, you guys are so immature!" she huffed as she rubbed her neck.
They both laughed at her reaction and Zack threw his arm around her shoulders. "You know we love you."
"Uh huh," she mumbled. "Y'all sure have a screwed up way of showing it."
They arrived at the restaurant and saw Alyssa waving at them from a rounded corner booth. As they settled in, Alex sat on one side of Star and Alyssa sat on the other. Zack seated himself on the other side of Alyssa, which pleased her. While they were looking over the menus, Alyssa leaned over and asked Star if she was feeling better. She assured Alyssa that she was fine and Zack looked over at her scoldingly for lying, which Star tried to ignore.
The group ordered their meals and bantered back and forth about what was going on in their classes. Alyssa brought up a project that she and Alex were working on together for one of their Political Science classes, which they both were majoring in, and suddenly started worrying about what the other member of their group was doing. She asked Alex if he wouldn't mind calling them while they were waiting for their food to arrive. Alex obliged without question and got up to make the call outside where there was better cellphone reception. Once he was out of earshot, Alyssa looked seriously at Star.
"So?"
Star looked at her confused. "So?"
Alyssa smiled. "Yeah so, what about Mr. Maybe?"
Zack chuckled beside her. "He's coming to dinner tonight."
"Seriously?" Alyssa looked surprised. "You're sneaking around behind Alex's back? I'm shocked." She turned to Zack and shoved him. "And I'm stunned you're going along with it!"
Zack took a sip of his drink. "Hey, I'm just the best friend. I go along with what she asks and support her, no matter how crazy she is." He rattled the ice at the bottom of his glass and smirked in her direction.
Star stuck her tongue out at him.
"I'm not sneaking around. It's just dinner.... What? I'm not allowed to have any other male friends because of Alex?" she tried to defend herself.
Alyssa shook her head. "Nice try. You can't have your cake and eat it too. You're obviously interested in this other guy. I can tell it isn't just a friends thing."
"Should have seen her blushing thinking about him yesterday," Zack tapped his straw. "It was beyond amusing."
"Zack!" Star retorted.
"You have to call me and tell me everything about tonight then," Alyssa looked over at Star. "If you don't"-she tilted her head toward Zack-"I know he will."
Zack grinned over Alyssa's head at Star.
She sighed, defeated. "Fine. I'll tell you about what happens tonight."
"Promise?" Alyssa searched her eyes.
Star nodded. "I promise."
Alyssa adjusted herself in her seat happily. "Good, because Alex is coming back and the food is ready."
The three of them welcomed Alex back, and he seated himself and looked over at Alyssa strangely. "Dylan said you called him yesterday and went over everything with him."
"Oh..." Alyssa waved her hand. "I did. Sorry, I forgot," she shrugged and shot him a sheepish grin.
"You're so flighty sometimes," Alex shook his head at her.
They ate, and things quieted down. There was a comment here and there among them about random topics, and Alex grabbed Star's hand and held it under the table for a while. She didn't want to compare it to the way it had felt when Tristan held her hand yesterday, but in her mind she was. Alex's hold on her hand was stronger and less gentle. Tristan caressed her hand, whereas Alex held it firmly within his grasp. Tristan's hands had been soft; Alex's hands were rough from working hard in Australia. It struck her as odd she had paid that much attention to the way Tristan had held her hand considering it hadn't been for long. Star had never been a stickler for small details like that before. She'd gotten quiet while she was pondering all of this and Alex had noticed. He looked over at her with a questioning gaze and squeezed her hand.
"You okay?"
Star forced a smile.
"You know I've heard you guys ask me that question more times in the past two days..." she shook her head. "I'm fine."
She caught Zack looking at her with raised eyebrows. He winked at her as her eyes met his and then went back to flirting with the waitress. He had been doing that since they sat down and the poor waitress looked like she was ready to hop in his lap. Zack flashed her a smile of champions and Star could've sworn the girl's heart fluttered.
Alyssa was watching intently, just as taken with Zack as the waitress. He was always doing that; it didn't matter where they went. People fell in love with Zack the second they met him. Star knew she sure had. The only difference had been that when she'd first met Zack, he wasn't half as charismatic as he was now. Back then he wasn't quite as sure of himself and had been focused on work. Once she started hanging out with him outside of work through, Star found out quickly that Zack was way more charming and caring then she'd initially thought. Their friendship had grown from there.
Alex stood up then bent down and kissed her softly. "Time for me to go. It's almost three already."
"Alright, I'll talk to you later then," she answered with another smile.
He said his goodbyes to Alyssa and Zack and then exited. A minute later Alyssa did the same since she had a 3:00 class as well. That left Star and Zack alone in the booth and since they'd already paid, the waitress wasn't coming by as often to distract him. He nudged her. She smirked and nudged him back.
"What was going on with you and Alex over here?"
Star sighed. "Nothing, I was caught up in my thoughts, and he picked up on it."
Zack nodded as his eyes were following something across the room and then he turned and faced her with a stoic expression crossing his features. "You know you can't keep doing this to him, Star. It's not fair."
"I know," she looked down at her hands on the table and folded them together. "I don't know what's going on with Tristan and me, so I don't want to act too fast with Alex and then regret it later." She looked back up into Zack's eyes. "I'm sure you can understand where I'm coming from...right?"
He opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it and started again. "If things don't go well tonight..." Zack shook his head. "This ends." he looked away from her. "I feel like I'm lying to Alex and I don't like it."
Star chewed her lip. "I wish I could explain things better to you. I have a feeling it's not going to be that easy."
Zack rested his head on his hand. "It might help if you try. Since when can't you tell me something?"
"It's complicated," she looked away from him.
He turned her face toward him with one finger, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Star, talk to me. Tell me what's going on. You're my best friend. If we can't be honest with each other, what have we got? You've been so off your game the past two days. And with you and these fainting spells," he shook his head, "...I'm worried about you."
Star grabbed his hand that was at her face and lightly pulled it away. "Zack I....I just can't."
"If you start missing classes like that more often because of him you're going to lose your scholarship you know. I highly doubt any guy is worth losing a full ride with room and board included," he clenched his jaw.
"He didn't force me to miss class. He missed his class too. I fainted, he was concerned, so we went to eat to get me back on my feet and make sure I was okay," Star scowled at him. "It was nothing more than that."
"If that's true then why was he waiting for you this morning too?" Zack narrowed his eyes a bit. "He's not giving you some pills or anything is he?"
Star looked at him indignantly. "No... what kind of question is that? He wanted to say hi before class. That's all. Look...I get that you don't trust him, but don't automatically be an ass just because you're friends with Alex."
"Hey, I'm more worried about you getting caught up with some guy and losing everything that you worked so hard for to get you where you are today, don't get all persnickety with me," he shot back.
Star sighed. "I'm not arguing with you over this." She leaned over and kissed Zack's cheek. "I'll see you tonight. I'm going to class early today."
CHAPTER 10
Tristan had spent the rest of the time before his next class doing his coursework in the car. After his class, he had come home and finished what he had left and then lay in his bed trying to finish the book on reincarnation. Every once in a while, Tristan would look up at his alarm clock to make sure it hadn't gotten too late. Around 7:00 he had showered and changed. He figured that would give Star enough time to get home and prepare. After he locked up the house, Tristan called her number as he headed to his car.
"Are you on your way?" Star answered.
"Well, hi to you too," he laughed lightly.
She laughed. "Sorry, hi...are you on your way?"
"Getting in my car now. I should be there in about 10 minutes," he replied.
"Okay. I'll meet you out front." Her response seemed a little tense.
After he parked, Tristan walked across the street to the building marked 2416. Star appeared a moment later in his line of vision, and he walked up to her. She didn't say a word at first, just grabbed both of his hands and held them. He almost didn't want to go inside, knowing her roommate was up there and it was only the two of them down here.
"I'm glad you're here," she said softly.
"Me too."
Star's expression faltered. "I'm going to apologize for Zack right now. Apparently, he's more upset over the Alex thing than I thought he'd be. I'm sorry."
Tristan sighed. "It's okay. I guess I should have expected that. I'll have to make a better impression then."
She threw her arms around him suddenly and hugged him tightly.
Taken aback at first, Tristan took a moment to respond. Then he held her close and closed his eyes, running his hand through her hair, which was now cascading down her back. This was how it was supposed to be. His life filled with moments like these with Star. He felt that all over, and his heart pounded against his chest. They could have stood like that all night, and he wouldn't have cared. He heard her sniff and pulled away slightly.
When Star looked up, there were fresh tears in her eyes. Tristan reached over and wiped away one that had slid down her cheek. "Do you still want to do this?" he asked her gently. "I could always leave."
Star shook her head and retook his hand. "I don't want you to leave."
"But this is obviously upsetting you." He wiped away more of her tears as they spilled and caressed her cheeks.
"I'm not handling this whole thing very well I guess...I'm not used to hiding things from the people I care about," she hiccupped. "Zack's...so...mad at me...and I don't know what to tell him," she grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, then buried her head in his chest again.
Tristan rubbed her back and looked upward toward the apartments. "It'll be okay." He kissed the top of her head. "We'll get through this." He wrapped his other arm around her and continued to rub her back. "I'm as freaked out about all of this as you are," he murmured into her hair as he rested his cheek against the top of her head. "I yelled at the only friend I have today," he admitted.
She looked up at him and sniffed. "You did?"
He nodded, and Star swallowed and took a deep breath. "I can't imagine you yelling at anyone."
Tristan pressed his lips together. "I was a real ass to her."
He gently pushed the hair out of Star's eyes and tucked it behind her ear, then he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, still holding her close against him. She closed her eyes but seemed to be regaining her composure. He hoped she was. It wouldn't be a good thing if the two of them walked inside now and Zack thought that he was the cause of her tears. Tristan didn't exactly have a death wish.
After a few minutes of them standing close with their arms around each other and with her breathing slower, Star let go.
Tristan tilted his head to get a good look at her, and he saw her smile and sighed with relief. That was much better. "Better?
" he asked.
She nodded and took his hand. "Come on, let’s go get this over with." He let her lead him up the stairs and into her apartment.
As soon as he entered the apartment and saw the same built guy from that morning, Tristan internally groaned. It would figure the guy glaring at him this morning was her roommate. That was great. Star's hand around his was the only reason he allowed himself to be led over toward him. It didn't make him feel any better once he was up close and realized that Zack was at least 5 inches taller than he was. Talk about intimidating.
"Zack, this is Tristan Montgomery. Tristan, this is my roommate, Zack Davenport," she pointed to each of them.
