Last Year

five

Amelia guessed she put on a very good show since her brother and the rest of the team were leading by a huge margin just before the first half ended. It did not help though that Tristan kept glancing towards her direction. She even thought he was going to make his way up the bleachers at some point.

Each moment of opportunity, Amelia could feel him watching her. There was even a moment when Tristan made a three-point shot and then he pointed at the direction where she was seated signaling that the basket was made for her. This earned some oohs and aah from the crowd. Also, much to Amelia's dismay, Laura Tanner's if-looks-could-kill stare.

Amelia had to shudder and was once again glad that Melissa was there to help distract her. She kept her attention towards her brother's huddled team. Mark was pretty steamed about the gesture towards the stands but thankfully, he managed to keep calm enough and score a few consecutive points in return.

Amelia was starting to get really worried that her brother was under a lot of unnecessary strain. She knew he wanted nothing more than to march towards the other side of the court and strangle the guy who broke her sister's heart.

She bit her lip nervously as Mark was pacing back and forth while shooting murderous glares at Tristan's back.

"Whew. He looks really pissed off." Melissa retorted. The gave a sharp whistle using her finger and Clark's head snapped up towards their direction.

"Is he okay?" Mel mouthed at his cousin while pointing at the pacing Mark.

Clark glanced at his best friend then, called him over. They were talking in low voices while Clark gestured towards Mel and Lia.

Amelia met his brother's gaze and she almost wanted to run down and give him a hug. There was anguish and despair in those eyes. That moment, Amelia wished she did not go to the game. It would have saved him a lot of trouble.

"This is so stupid! I should have considered Mark's feelings before selfishly deciding to go to this game to prove a point!" She muttered to Melissa.

"Don't be dumb, Lia! Even without you here, they would still be playing against Tristan. Do you think your presence or lack of it would make a difference?"

Amelia sighed. She knew Mel was making sense but still, maybe if she were not there, Tristan wouldn't be such a show-off!

"The best thing you can do is cheer your brother on and make him see that it shouldn't matter! That Tristan doesn't mean anything at all anymore!"

Amelia nodded and then without warning she stood up and ran down towards the end of the bleachers. Melissa watched helplessly but decided to let her be when she realized Lia meant to go talk to her brother.

Amelia did not mind the hushed whispers as she passed by some of the students along the way. She was so focused on getting to her brother before half time was over.

"Mark!" She called out and her brother stopped pacing to jog over to where she was.

"Why are you down here? Get back up there before he sees you and-"

Amelia shook her head and grabbed her brother's arm when he looked like he was going to start pacing again.

"You're driving me crazy, okay? Can you please not let him get to you?" Amelia pleaded in a soft voice so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"It's too damn difficult! I want nothing more than to ram the ball down his throat. I can't believe how smug and obnoxious he's being- as if he didn't do anything- as if he did not know what happened to-"

Amelia placed her hand over her brother's mouth.

"Shhh! That's just it, " She whispered pleadingly "He doesn't know. Not a lot of people know and I want it to remain that way. So please, I know it's going to take so much more self control and patience but just let it go for now."

Alex cleared his throat. 

"Uh guys, you're making a scene..." He whispered and winked at Amelia before tugging at her ponytail. "Keep up the smile, gorgeous!"

Amelia gave him a genuine smile and turned to her brother, eyebrows raised. She sighed with relief when he cracked an easy grin. She hugged him and just as they pulled apart, the cheerleaders started their routine.

Amelia nudged her brother's ribcage when Kate smiled their way. She waved at her friend and waited for the routine to finish before turning to leave.

"Lia, I think you should go back to your seat. Tristan is headed this way." Clark whispered to both of them.

Mark growled. "He would not dare!"

Amelia could not help but look at the same direction her brother was looking at and indeed, Tristan was walking towards their area. Good thing the cheerleaders ended their routine and ran towards the team bench. Unfortunately, before she could turn away, she witnessed Laura stop in front of Tristan.

Amelia did not realize she took a sharp breath and before she could stop her body from shuddering, someone's arm was around her. She was a bit disoriented but managed to clear her head when the person turned her around to face the bleachers.

"Breathe, baby. You're going to be fine. They're not worth it."

Amelia looked up at Clark's concerned blue eyes, his small understanding smile encouraged her. She nodded and looked around for her brother. He was already in a huddle, Tom and Alex holding him down.

"Go, Lia! We're proud of you." Clark whispered before surprising her with a kiss on top of her head.

If she were not so unnerved and numb from the Laura and Tristan scene, she would have noticed the gasps and murmurs that followed her as she made her way up the stairs. She did not even notice Tamara's piercing eyes following her all the way up.

Melissa reached for her hand and asked if she was fine. She nodded still distracted from everything that had happened. Once the game resumed, Melissa turned to look at Amelia, grinning like an i***t.

"What?" Amelia asked, shaking her hand to get rid of the excess tension.

"What was that all about?"

"Huh? I had to talk to Mark to help calm him down!”

"No. What was up with you and Clark?" Melissa asked.

Amelia was saved from answering because a shrill whistle blasted from the court and both girls stood up to look.

They saw some players pull apart Mike and another player from the rival team. Amelia scanned the commotion and saw that her brother was on the floor.

"What happened?" Melissa asked the person in front of them.

"Tristan just fouled Mark. He charged and deliberately shoved him out of his way."

"What?" Amelia cried out. She strained her neck trying to see what was going on. The crowd was jeering and booing their rivals.

Clark was being restrained by Tom as he tried to get to Tristan. It was turning out to be such a dramatic game. Amelia wrung her hands together and prayed that Mark was okay.

The crowd cheered as the referee managed to clear out the problem. Mark was pulled on his feet by Jason, one of his team mates. He appeared to be okay.

Everyone's attention was turned to the two referees discussing something by the commentator's area. A few more seconds, the referee whistled and to Amelia's surprise and Mel's delight, Tristan was ejected from the game.

The crowd went wild and cheered loudly around their side of the bleachers! The Ridgemont team will be playing the rest of the game without their star point guard.

Amelia cheered with Melissa but her smile froze on her lips as Tristan was watching her from the sideline. He did not even look at his coach who seemed to be giving him a blistering sermon. Instead, he nodded towards her direction and grinned mischievously.

Amelia shuddered and turned to look away. He was not going to get any reaction from her as long as she could help it.

Kate was bouncing up and down when they met her at the end of the bleachers. Melissa had to make sure Tristan and his team were all in the locker room before she tugged Amelia to leave.

As expected, without the point guard, their team defeated the rival school 120-62. The guys were pretty psyched and even Mark could not help but whoop with delight after the game.

"I can't believe everything that happened!" Kate squealed. She was still shaking her pompoms despite being the only cheerleader left in the court. The rest were already headed outside with some of the players.

"I was trying my best not to kick Laura on the face the entire routine! I can't believe she's flirting and gushing about Tristan! And what about the jerk, huh? He even had the gall to give you a salute?! I would have kicked him in the nuts just for that!"

Melissa grunted with approval. She gave Amelia another hug and slung her arm around her.

"Well, at least that's over. We won! The asshole got ejected and now, we party!"

Amelia laughed. "Uh- party?"

Melissa nodded. "Everyone's celebrating in Tom's house. Surely you're not skipping this one! We have to celebrate your emancipation from the horrid memory that is Scoffield!"

"Okay, let's go! I'm driving!" Kate announced. She sighed giddily. "Mark was spectacular tonight, wasn't he?"

Amelia giggled as they made their way out of the gym. "You should really do something about that crush, Kate."

Kate made a face then changed the topic.

"Speaking of crush," she said, pulling Amelia's arm. "Is there something between Clark and you?"

Amelia choked on air. "Wha-what?" She sputtered.

"That's what I was trying to ask you!" Melissa exclaimed. "Were you the only one not there? The guy practically kissed you in front of the entire school!"

Amelia stopped walking and flushes. She vaguely remembered Clark's lips against her hair. She even thought she had imagined it.

"What do you mean? Kiss? In front of everyone?"

Katie and Melissa exchanged pitiful looks. " Oh Lia- don't tell me you were spaced out that time?"

She sighed. "I was shocked to see Laura and Tristan together. I could not move then Clark rescued me. I was stoic - I think- trying hard not to hyperventilate. He was just being a protective brother, that's all..."

Melissa nodded although remained unconvinced. Kate rolled her eyes but decided to leave it be.

"I guess so, with the amount of time that guy spends with your brother he is bound to care for you like a big brother." Kate murmured but Amelia saw her exchange suspicious looks with Melissa.

"Let's just go before I spot Laura or Tristan, please?"

Whatever Clark meant with that affectionate action, Amelia pushed it aside. She did not want to dwell on anything that concerned her heart and could cause trouble for everyone.

The three were almost out of the school when a cheer erupted down the hallway. The team emerged from the start gym followed by the cheerleaders and groupies. The three girls stopped walking and waited for the guys to reach their spot.

"Leelee!" Mark shouted as he jogged to his sister. "We won!"

Amelia could not help but giggle as her brother lifted her and twirled her. His happiness was contagious obviously, the tension and anguish had disappeared.

She grinned widely as they pushed their way through the waiting crowd outside the door. Loud cheers erupted and Amelia grabbed Kate's hand to get out of the way from the surging well-wishers.

The three girls walked to the parking lot and leaned against Clark's Jeep while watching the team get their well deserved cheers.

They were so wrapped up with watching the team that they did not notice the person standing beside Amelia.

"Hello Lia, it's been a while."

Amelia almost jumped out of her skin as she turned and saw Tristan standing beside her. She knocked Kate who yelped loudly and Melissa who shouted an expletive.

Amelia froze and just gaped at Tristan's achingly familiar good looks. She wanted to run away but she could not move.

“Don’t leave, Lia. Please."

Before Amelia could think, Kate stepped in front of her and glared at Tristan.

"Go away! She doesn't have anything to say to you! Go! Leave! Nobody wants you here!" She snarled.

Tristan glared at her and tried to get around her to look at Amelia. Kate stood her ground.

"Get out of the way, Kate. This is between Lia and me!"

"Make me!" Kate growled, not budging an inch.

Amelia grabbed Kate's arm and pulled her back.

"Come on, let's just leave." Amelia said. 

Kate glared at Tristan one more time before turning to leave with Melissa and Amelia. But, before anyone could react, Tristan managed to grab Amelia's arm.

She gasped and shouted loudly than she had intended. Feeling Tristan's hand on her skin was like a jolt of electricity igniting bad memories that flooded into her mind. The next thing she knew, she was being pulled away by Clark as Mark's fist connected with Tristan's face.

"Stay away from my sister, you asshole!" He growled. 

Tristan staggered back but managed to throw himself towards Mark. They ended up scuffling on the floor, punching away and wrestling each other.

"Kate get out of here!" Mike shouted at his sister as he pulled Mark away from Tristan.

"Here! Get in!" Clark shouted since his Jeep was nearer. "Kate! Mel! Get inside!"

Amelia felt Kate tug her hand as they clambered onto the Jeep. She felt pain on her knee area when she got on the backseat of the Wrangler. She kept her eyes on her brother. The coaches and teachers were already running towards the commotion.

Amelia watched in shock as Clark drove away from the school and away from everything. When they were cruising down the main road, Amelia's control snapped and she cried into Kate's waiting arms.