Emily awoke, still exhausted.
She glanced into the mirror and yawned massively. Her brown hair was tussled, sticking out in several directions. Her shirt had rearranged itself so her shoulder and most of her chest were exposed. There was a small, crusty line that trailed its way down the side of her mouth and onto her cheek. She quickly rubbed it off. She had barely gotten any sleep the previous night. Emily found herself dreaming about Tristan practically all night long.
She envisioned his muscular and toned chest, his abs and round biceps. His beautifully chiseled jawline, wavy brown hair, and bright blue eyes that never seemed to cease to sparkle. More intimately, she recalled his long fingers stretching deep inside of her... a buzz from her phone snapped her out of her thoughts.
Tristan: Do you want me to come pick you up?
If you can, Emily texted back, her fingers flying across the screen. I want to pick Angela up too.
Tristan: Angela?
Emily rolled her eyes. My friend. You'll remember her when you see her.
Tristan: All right. I'll be over in an hour.
Emily glanced at the wall clock. It was 6. She smiled. Angela wouldn't like waking up at 7. She groaned slightly as she stood and stretched. She picked out a set of clothes, showered, and cleaned up. Just ten minutes after she had finished getting ready, the doorbell rang.
Tristan was in a pair of black and white sweatpants, with a sleeveless shirt. He must have cut the sleeves off himself, because the edges were ragged and torn. Emily smiled. "Hi."
"Long time no see," Tristan replied, leaning against the wall.
Emily giggled and got on her toes to kiss him.
"You ready to go?" he asked.
---
Angela's house was ten minutes away.
Tristan nodded as he pulled into the driveway. Emily's eyes widened in surprise. Angela was on her front lawn, practically bouncing from one foot to the other.
"She must really want to see you," Emily said dryly.
Tristan snorted. "I remember her," he said as he parked the car. Emily laughed. Tristan pressed a button and the back doors unlocked. Angela was grinning from ear to ear when she sat down.
"I knew you two were dating!" she exclaimed.
Emily rolled her eyes. "What school did you say you were playing again?"
Tristan frowned. "Edison High School, or something like that."
There was a long, awkward pause, which Angela broke with a clear of her throat. "Doesn't Jared play for Edison?"
Emily nodded slowly. "Yeah." She whispered.
"You don't need to come, if you don't want. I can drop you back off at your house."
"No," Emily said firmly. She was determined to forget about him. When Tristan and Angela looked at her curiously, she added, "Besides, we'll be on the bleachers, he'll be on the field. He probably won't even recognize me."
Tristan looked doubtful. But he nodded anyways and stuck his key into the ignition. "Ready?"
---
The three of them were a bit early, Tristan realized as he parked his car in the field's parking lot.
He glanced across the 100-yard field. A few of his teammates were jogging along the track, warming up, and there was no sign of the Edison players. He waved to his coach, who had just parked beside them. He glanced back at Angela.
"I think it'll be fine. He's not here yet."
The timing couldn't have been more perfect. As soon as they pushed through the main gate, a large bus pulled into the lot. Across the side, in gold and white lettering, read, "Edison High". Tristan glanced back at the bus and then at Emily. "You sure you'll be okay?"
Emily nodded. "I'll be fine." She looked over at the gate. More of Tristan's teammates had arrived. "Good luck."
Tristan smiled. He leaned over and kissed Emily's cheek. Then he sprinted over to huddle with his team.
It was quite cold, Emily realized, as she sat on the cold, metal bleachers. She regretted not having brought a jacket. There was a deep buzz, and Emily turned. The scoreboard lit up. The red letters now showed a time of 45 minutes. She guessed it was showing how much time was left until the actual tournament started.
Angela glanced at the gate. The Edison players were entering, jeering and tossing insults at their opponents. She coughed awkwardly as she noticed Jared's large figure towards the front of the group. Emily seemed to notice too, because she inhaled sharply. Angela put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
For the next forty minutes, parents and friends poured into the stadium. There weren't many viewers, maybe a hundred or so spectators scattered across the bleachers. Emily had laughed when she saw it. It made her somewhat glad; the fact that during their home football games at Lakewood High, tickets almost always sold out and bleachers were packed, almost to a point where one couldn't stand without nudging into someone else. But here, at Edison's field, there were barely enough people to cover half of one side of the stadium. It was a comforting thought.
There was a second buzz from the scoreboard. The clock now sported a red 15. Emily and Angela both glanced at the field. Two players from both Edison and Lakewood walked towards the center of the field. They shook hands, rather reluctantly, Emily noticed. The sun glinted off of a small coin that flipped through the air and landed back into one of the referee's hands. The players shook hands once more and headed back towards their sidelines.
One of the referees placed the ball on one side of the field. Several Edison players lined up beside it, with one directly behind the ball. Directly opposite to them were eleven Lakewood players. They were lined up in different positions. Emily noticed that Tristan was in the far back. She knew, from watching NFL games with her dad, that Tristan would be catching the ball as soon as it was kicked. There was a sharp whistle, and the ball was launched into the air.
Tristan caught the ball and immediately began sprinting up the field. His dark blue uniform weaved between white helmets, practically skipping from one side to another. It took three players to finally tackle Tristan, and that was in their own territory, at the forty yard line.
Angela looked slightly confused. "Did we score?"
"No," Emily replied. "Not yet, at least."
Several players rotated on and off the field. Tristan stayed on. He was a receiver, Emily knew. And one of the best on the team. Lakewood was on offense now. Edison players lined up opposite to them, defending now. There was a whistle, and the ball was snapped. As soon as he had the ball, the quarterback stepped back several yards, and tossed it up towards Tristan. Emily stood to get a better view as Tristan leaped up, his hands outstretched towards the ball...
And was slammed in the back by an Edison defender.
He hit the ground with a loud grunt, and there were several cries of protest from the stands. Emily stood, watching fearfully. Her fearful expression switched to one of anger as she realized it was Jared who had hit him. Then her eyes widened as Tristan stood, his rage apparent. As soon as he was on his feet, he swung, his hand grabbing Jared's facemask. With a growl, he tossed Jared to the ground, almost effortlessly. There were a series of whistles as Edison and Lakewood coaches swarmed onto the field and attempted to pull the two players apart.
It took four of Tristan's teammates to pull him off of Jared. As soon as they were able, a referee stood back. He seemed to have some sort of microphone attached to his cheek. His voice boomed from several speakers located around the field. "Number 18 and 2 are ejected from the game."
There was an uproar from the spectators, mainly from Emily and Angela. Tristan angrily tossed his helmet into his bag. A coach went up behind him and patted his back comfortingly before returning his attention to the game. His teammates watched, worried, as Tristan shouldered his bag and walked off the field.
"I'll go talk to him," Emily said. "Stay here. We'll be back." Angela nodded.
Emily found Tristan in his car, his head slumped against the steering wheel. She rapped on the passenger window. Tristan looked up, and he slowly unlocked the doors.
"Hey," Emily said as she sat and closed the door behind her. She leaned over and brushed her fingers over a deep cut across Tristan's cheek. "What happened here?"
