Prove It

Chapter 5

Tristan didn’t stay much longer with Sierra, he needed to get away from her, clear his head. His judgment seemed to be clouded whenever he was near her and right now he needed to think straight. He walked through the halls, not really sure of what to do. Sierra gave him a lot to consider and he had some serious choices to make. His indecisiveness is what got him in this mess in the first place.

When did everything go so wrong? And how was he going to fix this? He needed to talk to Jessica. Really talk to her, find out what she was thinking so they could get everything out in the open and see if what they had was worth saving. He needed to know if she still wanted to be with him. It was hard to tell after their fight on Friday and she won’t answer his calls. But he was done letting her call all the shots. No more misunderstandings, no more unnecessary jealousy. They were going to have this out. Today.

Do you think we’re stupid? Or maybe you’re hoping we’re blind.

Chris’ words kept replaying in Tristan’s head as he searched for his girlfriend, which pissed him off. He didn’t want to remember. But that entire day was imprinted on his mind making it impossible to forget.

**Flashback**

After that scene with Jessica on Friday, Tristan decided that the best way to blow off some steam was to swim a few laps. Being in the pool was like second nature to him. The smell of the chlorine, the feel of being surrounded by nothing but cool liquid, it was calming. It refocused him. It was his escape, and that was something he desperately needed.

He headed to the locker room to change when he heard voices. Chris and Jason were engaged in a heated discussion, almost arguing. He was about to make his presence known when he heard his name and froze. They were talking about him.

“Hey, Chris, lay off him. Saturday is a big day for all of us. Everyone is nervous about it.”

“He knows he’s the best swimmer on the team. Everybody fucking knows it. So why does he keep acting like he doesn’t know he’s going to win every competition he’s in? It’s retarded.”

“Why are you being so hard on him? This is our last year. Most of us have scholarships and college acceptances riding on this and because of Tristan, we may finally make it to the finals. That’s a lot of pressure for one person.”

“There’s a difference between being humble and fishing for compliments. I’m sick of that innocent act he likes to put on for everybody and I’m tired of stroking his ego all the time.”

“Nobody asked you to do that.”

The two guys turned at the sound of Tristan’s voice, surprised by the unexpected intrusion.

“Hey, man. I know how this seems, but it’s not what you think,” Jason said.

“Really? Because it looks like my friends are talking about me when I’m not around.”

“Jason was trying to defend you,” Chris interjected. “Just like everybody else does, even when you don’t deserve it.”

“You have something you want to say to me, Chris? It sounds like you do. If it makes you feel better, I could turn around since you can’t say how you really feel to my face.”

Chris approached Tristan, moving in front of him. Chris wasn’t as tall as tall as Tristan, but he was more muscular and had a stockier build which he tried to use to intimidate Tristan.  

“I’m not afraid to say shit to your face,” Chris spat.

“What’s your problem?” Tristan asked, taken aback by the hostility coming from his friend.