A/N: I know last chapter was kind of cheap with the short snippet of Tristan's POV. This chapter will act as a complement to the last one. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 13

October 1, 2027

Tristan's POV

Homecoming was in a couple of weeks, and I didn't have a date. Beings freshman, I didn't know many people to ask. Not to mention I didn't want to deal with being rejected. It's not like I didn't interact with girls. I have two sisters, so I'm pretty sure I have a great understanding of them. But dealing with my sisters is completely different.

There were a few girls in my classes that were cute. There was one girl in particular that made the rest of them seem average looking. Her name is Shannon. We went to middle school together. She moved here the middle of 7th grade. Every time she passed by me, my heart beats faster. Ialmosttalked to her once, but nothing but air came out.

I sat in my room thinking of how to ask her. I knew my chances were slim, but there's something about her. It was like she had super powers. It was as if she had a force field around her that stopped any guy from talking to her.

The great thing about us both being Freshmen was that our schedules we practically the same. We had four of the seven classes we got scheduled for together. That gave me ample opportunity to talk to her. I just had to figure out how to get the words out of my mouth.

Just when I thought the situation was completely hopeless, the odds worked in my favor. I was walking into school one morning when I saw one of the football players was hitting on her.

"Leave me alone, Eric!" She exclaimed. Everyone that was in the hallway stared as the scene unfolded. Being as madly in love with her as I was, I decided to stand up for her.

"Come on, Shannie, don't be like that."

"Hey! She told you to back off!"

I could hear everyone gasp. I was as scared as I could get. But with all the attention I had drawn to myself, I knew backing down wasn't an option. Eric laughed as he turned to face me.

"What're you gonna do about it?"

Without thinking I punched him square in the face. Before I had time to react further, he punched me, hard. The next thing I saw was Shannon and Ali standing over me.

"Lewi?" I heard Ali say as she grabbed ahold of me, picking me off the ground.

I shook my head, trying to bring myself out of the daze I was in. My focus turned to Shannon, who was smiling at me. I could tell she was thankful, but at the same time apologetic.

"You okay?" Shannon asked quietly.

"Y-y-yeah. I-I-I'm fine."

"What in the hell made you do that?!" Ali shrieked at me.

"He was protecting me," Shannon stepped in.

I could feel my heart melt. My life-threating deed didn't go unnoticed.

"I'll walk you to the nurse, if you would like," Shannon told me.

I nodded as much as I could before we headed towards the front office.

Thankfully I didn't get suspended for throwing the first punch. Shannon vouching for me really saved me. Of course it wouldn't save me from what Mom and Dad would say once they saw my face.

"Tristan?! What happened?" Mom said as she rushed over in my direction.

"He got the shizz beaten out of him by a football player," Ali said as she her way up the stairs.

"How'd that happen?"

I sighed. The level of stupidity I displayed early on showed.

"I was defending this girl I like. Some douchebag was hitting on her and I decided to stand up for her."

I looked at Mom as she stood there in disbelief. I usually didn't get into anything with anyone, well, except Ali. I prepared myself to hear a lecture. Mom was like a volcano at times. If she got angry enough, she would erupt.

"Wow! You must really like this girl" was all she said before motioning for me to go to the kitchen. I sat at the island as she went to the freezer to grab some ice and putting it in an ice pack.

"So, tell me about this girl."

I gulped. I didn't want to tell my mom about my feelings for Shannon. If I were Ali, it'd probably go in a diary that I'd hide and never let anyone see. Getting punched in the face for her forfeited that level of privacy.

"She's been in at least one of my classes since seventh grade. She's beautiful, angelic even. She's smart, has a great smile. Just being in the same room as her makes my heart race."

"Sounds like you really like her."

"Yeah, I do," I looked at the wood on the kitchen table, "I was thinking about asking her to homecoming."

I looked up to see a huge smile on her face.

"Why don't you ask her?"

"I don't want to get rejected. I want to be able to make it through the rest of my high school years."

She sat beside me, "You'll be fine. I liked your dad for years. I didn't want to ask him out because I was scared of getting rejected. When he asked me, I felt a whole load fall off my shoulders. If it wasn't for that, I don't know if you would be here. If you really like her, take the chance. You never know. It may work out."

She was right. I wouldn't know if I didn't say anything. Then again, maybe it was best that I didn't. I sighed silently as I thought. Would it hurt more to be rejected or to not ask at all? I didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to at least have one date with her.

Later on that night I was laying on my bed. I had done all my homework. I hoped it was done correctly. I wasn't as focused as I should have been. I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in!"

I looked to see Ali standing at the door with a huge smile on her face.

"Your girlfriend is downstairs."

I shot up, "Girlfriend? I don't have...Wait! Shannon's here?!"

She nodded. I got up and ran past her.

"Don't act like a dork!" she shouted.

As soon as I got close enough, I slowed down. I needed to be cool. I wouldn't get a date with her otherwise.

"Hey, Shannon," I said, trying to be as cool as possible.

"Hey. I came by to thank you."

I shrugged, "It was no big deal."

"Either way, thank you."

She came closer to me, giving a gentle peck on the lips. I felt my insides melting.

"I was wondering," I began, "would you like to go to homecoming with me?"

She smiled. God! I loved that smile!

"Sure."

She gave me one more kiss before waving goodbye and walking out the front door.

"I knew you could do it," I heard Mom say. I turned to the living room to see Mom, Dad, Harper, and Henry all looking at me.

"You were spying?"

"Well, duh! Like we would want to miss this, especially if you got rejected."

"Harper! Be nice."

She sighed, "Okay. Okay."

February 14, 2028

Since that incident and homecoming, Shannon and I got a lot closer. We started sitting together in all the classes we had together. I'd walk her to homeroom before going off to mine. We'd walk out together at the end of the day, waiting for our respective rides. More times than not she would come home with me and do was seemingly fine, except that we hadn't officially declared we were dating. Since today was Valentine's Day, and Ali's birthday, I was going to ask her.

I walked into school early, hoping she would be there. I went to the courtyard, where she spent some time before all the other students came in. She sat on one of the benches, listening to music. I smiled as I walked over and tapped her gently on the shoulder.

"Hey."

"Hey," she said smiling, "I didn't think anyone would be here."

"Yeah. I wanted to surprise you." I pulled a teddy bear from out of my book bag and handed it to her.

She shrieked before taking the bear, "wrapping it in her arms, "It's so cute! I love it!"

My smile grew wider, "Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

I watched completely nervous. I started to relax as her smile grew wider.

"Yes."

I sat in the empty spot beside her. We quickly closed the space in between us. We broke apart once we heard the sounds of students arriving. We stared at each other and it was then I realized, high school wasn't going to be so bad after all.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this! I wanted to give Tristan some "airtime". I know it's two days after Christmas, but I'm still considering this my holiday present to all of you. Please continue to read and review!

~reneexoxtyler15~