Collide by H.M. Ward Page A

watched him sitting on the desk. The smile fell off his lips as Trystan leaned forward, putting all his weight on his hands, and stared at the floor. His voice sounded strained.
    “ Then tell her,” she urged.
    Trystan glanced up at her from under his brow. The way she looked at him made him think he should. That if he said it, she would believe him. But Seth’s words rang through his mind. The image of the bullet being fired from the gun, and the inability to take it back. Once he said it, there was no going back.
    Silence filled the room. Mari finally said, “What do you have to lose? It’s not like you’re friends. It’s not like you’d be risking one relationship for the other, so—” The way he looked at her when she spoke made the floor of her stomach fall. She stopped midsentence. “You already know her, don’t you?”
    “ She’s one of my best friends,” he answered softly. “I doubt she even realizes it.”
    Mari’s brown gaze was hypnotic. Trystan couldn’t look away even though it pulled him in deeper. The feeling in his stomach, the alluring pull that made him reckless urged him to say it, but Trystan kept his jaw locked. She had to figure it out on her own. That’s the only way she’ll believe me, he thought.
    But Mari didn’t say anything. She remained lost in Trystan’s gaze, her dark curls dangling over her shoulders as she sat on the desk across from him. It felt like time stopped. Trystan didn’t want to blink. He wanted to remember this moment, everything about it. The way her perfectly pink lips were slightly parted, the way she leaned toward him like she knew, and the way her eyes locked with his—he could feel the connection with her in his core. It tugged at him at first, calling him back to her. But now it assaulted him day and night. There was nothing without Mari.
    Pulse pounding in his ears, Trystan didn’t notice Tucker until the door scraped open. Trystan quickly looked away, breaking the connection. The stirring in his stomach faded and it felt like he lost part of himself.
    “ Off,” Tucker snapped at Trystan.
    Trystan slid off the teacher’s desk and walked around to sit a row over and behind Mari. She watched him pass, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking, if she knew he was talking about her.
    “ You two are pushing your luck. You are aware of that, right?” Tucker said looking at each of them.
    “ I didn’t do anything to Brie,” Mari said, but Tucker held up his hand and she stopped speaking.
    “ Your job, Jennings, is to get them out onto the stage at the right time.”
    “ She did it on purpose,” Mari muttered.
    “ So was Trystan’s little stunt.” He looked back at Trystan. “That little stunt should have been a suspension, Scott.”
    “ There’s no way to prove it was intentional,” Trystan replied dryly. “She punched me in the head and I dropped her. Could have happened to anyone.”
    “ That kind of crap doesn’t happen to guys like you,” Tucker replied. Beads of sweat lined his face, “Enough of this. Whatever is going on with you Scott has to stop. Get back on stage and do it right this time.” Trystan slid off the desk and walked out the door.
    As he left the classroom he could hear Mari defending herself, but he knew Tucker wouldn’t listen. Brie had him wrapped around her little finger.
     
     
    CHAPTER 17
     
    ~MARI~
     
    I left practice early, since Tucker said he couldn’t stand the sight of me. The only reason he called Trystan back was because he was needed or they couldn’t practice. As I left the building Katie caught up with me.
    “ Hey, why are you leaving early?” she ran up next to me, smiling, happy to have someone to walk home with.
    “ Tucker tossed me.” Before she could ask, I added, “Brie set me up, Tucker made an example. My life sucks. What else is new?”
    “ That was harsh. He threw you out?”
    I nodded, “Yeah. Why are you still here?”
    She grinned, “Math help. I needed a