Prove It

Chapter 6

Sierra didn’t think talking to Tristan would be that hard. She was proud of herself for not backing down. She stuck to the plan. But it still hurt. She had to force herself to say words she didn’t mean, voice opinions that weren’t really hers. When he asked her if she thought there was anything wrong with what they were doing, she almost cracked. Of course she didn’t think they were doing anything wrong. She loved spending time with him. She loved everything about him. But she had to stop drooling over someone else’s guy. It was desperate and dishonest, words Sierra liked to believe didn’t describe her. She knew it would hurt for a while, not being around him. But she’d deal with it. She was strong enough to get through this. She had no choice.

She sat in silence for a long time, the shrill sound of the bell indicating next period startled her. She dragged herself to her locker, grabbed what she needed and walked to math class. She was glad to see Tia was already there. She was tired of feeling alone, and she knew Tia would be there for her. She sat in the seat her friend always saved for her.

“It went that well, huh?” Tia asked when she saw the look on Sierra’s face.

Sierra really didn’t want to talk about it. Not yet. She just wanted to sit  

Luckily Tony chose that moment to walk in.  

“Hey, baby,” he said and placed a sweet kiss on Tia’s lips, effectively distracting her nosy friend. Tia murmured a greeting and blushed prettily. Obviously those two have made up. At least one of them was happy. She should have been happy for her friend, instead she’s couldn’t stand to look at her, jealousy threatening to turn her an unflattering shade of green.

“What up, Sierra?”

“Hey, Tony,” she answered weakly.

Reggie walked in right after Tony, he paused when he saw Sierra. Sierra had to admit he looked really good today. His dark blue long sleeved shirt clung to his body and arms, highlighting his toned muscular build. His hair looked like it was freshly cut, his black curls formed neat waves around his head. His smooth cinnamon colored skin practically glowed under the harsh fluorescent lights. Long lashes framed his dark brown eyes. Even though his trademark smirk was missing, he still looked amazing. Sierra waited for a feeling other than platonic appreciation to assault her, but she felt nothing.

Sierra gave him a shy wave that he didn’t return. She knew that Tia and Tony were watching her, so she tried to play it off by using the raised hand to smooth her hair back. She wasn’t fooling anybody.

The rest of class went by in a blur. Sierra couldn’t seem to concentrate on the material. The bell took forever to ring and then Mr. Parker mumbled something about homework. Sierra hurriedly gathered her things, in hopes of catching Reggie before he walked out, but when she looked up, he was already gone. Her movements slowed and she briefly closed her eyes. She didn’t think that it was possible to feel worse than she already did.

She felt a light touch on her shoulder.

“He’ll come around,” Tony told her. He gave her a gentle squeeze, his tone reassuring. Tia was standing right beside him offering silent support. He and Tia were both giving her twin looks of pity. Great, they feel sorry for her, which was so much worse than feeling sorry for herself.

“See you after school?” Tia asked.

“Yeah,” she told her.

Tia gave her a patronizing smile and then the couple walked out together, leaving Sierra in the room. She didn’t feel like going to her next class. She stayed where she was for a while, not really sure what to do. Should she risk ditching?

“Everything alright, Ms. Foster?”

Sierra looked up at the sound of her name. Mr. Parker was still here? Sierra looked around and it was just the two of them. Mr. Parker looked at her, concerned.