"Keith," Tessa scolded with a smile, "what are you doing here? You know coach doesn't like interruptions during practice…"

"Glad to see you too Tess," the burly guy didn't even crack a smile as he took her arm and drew her up against him. "Can't a guy come visit his girlfriend every once and a while?"

Sighing, Tessa smiled faintly. "What do you want, honey?" she asked, anxiously eyeballing the coach as he took notice from the other side of the field and started to make his way over; her cheerful tone sounding somewhat forced now.

"Me and the guys are going out his evening to catch a movie, maybe stop by a club. I'll be by around seven to pick you up." Keith reached out his finger to touch her lips as she began to protest, "And don't say you've got plans or you're too busy. What could be more important than spending some time with your main squeeze?" He moved his hand to draw her head closer to his and kissed her firmly on the mouth just as the coach arrived on his heels.

"Stowe!" The man barked gruffly. "I don't care how good a wrestler you are for me, I want you off my field during any practice that's not yours. You know the rules. No distractions, no disruptions. Now move it!"

"Okay, okay Coach."

Keith flashed a grin at the guy before he turned back to Tessa, "Don't forget, seven o'clock sharp. And be ready. I'm not taking no as an answer." Keith turned on his heel as the words left his mouth, his eyes hardening as he met Tessa's increasingly irritated gaze before he flashed another smile at the group and jogged off back towards the gym.

"And Lamontagne," Coach Henderson continued, "In the future; if you would please make your plans for hot dates anywhere but my track." Annoyance crept into his voice for a moment before he glanced down at his watch and blew the silver whistle dangling from his neck.

"All right everybody, that's it for today," he hollered across the track to the clusters of students who had stopped still at the shrill sound. "Get your sweaty selves into the showers and go home. Next practice is day after tomorrow."

The man turned and marched back to the gym behind the quickly retreating team members, while Tom and Tessa remained standing on the track. Amy jogged easily over to join them.

"Ames," Tessa began as she got close enough to hear, "I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to cancel tonight; something's come up."

Hurt, Amy's cheerful expression turned angry as she confronted her friend before storming back to the locker room.

"You know Tess, you don't have to do everything that JERK tells you to. I swear, since you started going out with him, you haven't had a say in your free time at all. And, you haven't had any time for your friends. There are other people who care about you and want to see you too you know!"

Her hot words stung Tessa and Tom held back from the two as her shoulders sagged in momentary defeat before she too headed, albeit at a much slower pace, towards the gym.

Tom's brow furrowed slightly over the exchange he'd witnessed, first with Keith and then the resulting blow up with Amy. It wasn't his place to say anything… yet… but it sure seemed to him that Keith was not the greatest guy for Tessa to be hanging around with.


The next day, affectionately nicknamed "Tiresome Tuesday" by some of the students, Mrs. Barnes was out sick and the class had Coach Henderson as a substitute. Silence, or something close to it, reigned as he turned the time into a study hall and busied himself with correction papers from his own class, virtually ignoring the room full of students until the noise level got out of control. Then, he wouldn't even glance up but would raise his voice above the din and tell the class to "keep it down people, keep it down."

Tom took advantage of the apparent lack of assigned seating to grab the seat next to Tessa. "Hey Tessa," he said cheerfully as he sat down, "how was the movie last night?"

Noticing the confusion cross her fact at his question he clarified. "I couldn't help but hear Keith's invitation after I nearly mowed him down." Tom purposefully put a little extra emphasis, laced with a touch of sarcasm, into the word "invitation" and was pleased to notice the point didn't go unnoticed by Tessa.

"Amy and I had a great girl's night," she replied with a faint smile; placing equally increased emphasis, less the sarcasm, on "Amy". "I'm sure Keith had a perfectly fine night with his friends too."

The two of them chatted on and off for the rest of the period, pausing only to pack up their stuff or resume "silence" when Coach hollered at no one in particular. Having a substitute in your last period class was just as bad as waiting for Friday to end. When the bell did finally go off, most of the class had scrambled out the door before the two of them had even stood up.

"So," Tom began, as he noticed her lingering in the room, "since there's no practice today, d'ya need a ride home?"

"That's okay Tom, Amy's…" Tessa was cut off from replying as Keith's booming voice filled the room.

"Just what the hell do you think you were doing standing me up last night!" Red faced, Keith had bypassed irritated and gone straight to irate.

Unconsciously, Tessa took half a step back before drawing herself up, arms ramrod straight at her sides, eyes flashing with equal intensity as she replied.

"You don't own me Keith Stowe, I'm not some puppet at your beck and call. If I have plans already made with a friend, I'm not going to drop everything just because you dictate it."

She paused momentarily to draw in a deep breath before continuing, cutting him off before he could retort.

"And, if you think I am, then maybe I made a mistake when I said I'd go out with you."

"Well, maybe you'd better do as you told so you don't make any more mistakes." Keith moved closer to Tessa, reaching out to grab her arm as he spoke. Wary, Tom moved closer, prepared to pull them apart if necessary, but holding back to see how far things would get.

"STOWE!" The call came loud and harsh across the room, cutting through the tension and hitting the wrestler's subconscious, bring him back in control of himself just a fraction more. All three students turned and looked at Coach Henderson as he stood behind the desk. His posture was tense, poised, yet completely in control.

"Practice, Mr. Stowe," he continued, his eyes locked with the burly student's who's arm was still poised mid-air, extended towards Tessa's, "began as soon as the bell rang. I suggest you don't make yourself any later than you already are."

The intensity behind the words and their intended purpose were not missed by any of the three students. Tom watched, still standing several feet back from Tessa as Keith's outstretched hand trembled ever so slightly for a second before he closed his fingers into a fist with a snap and, with visible effort, brought his arm back to his side. His eyes broke away from the coach's and he locked his gaze with Tessa's once more. Stone cold fury still radiated from his thin veneer of self-control.

"This isn't over," he hissed through clenched teeth, before spinning on his heel and storming out of the classroom, closely followed by the Coach. The man glanced at Tessa as he left the room, nodding his head slightly as he caught her gaze, but saying nothing.

"Yes it is!" Tessa called firmly at his retreating figure as they crossed the doorjamb. The whole incident had happened so fast, Tom wasn't even sure Keith had realized there had been more people than Tessa in the room. He'd only noticed the coach when the man had intervened, the surprise that had flashed across his face had proved that much, so Tom would have almost bet the jock hadn't even noticed the cop's presence either. He certainly hadn't acknowledged him at all if he had. Anger, he decided, definitely had tunnel vision.