Waking up in the Sayana household was different now. Not just because of the fame and attention, but because of the shift in his relationship with Ayana. They were official now, and it changed everything about their daily interactions.
Tristain came downstairs for breakfast to find Ayana already at the kitchen table, scrolling through her phone with a huge smile on her face.
"Morning, girlfriend," he said, kissing the top of her head as he passed by to get cereal.
"Morning, boyfriend," she replied, the word still feeling new and exciting. "You need to see this."
She turned her phone toward him, showing their Instagram post from prom night. The picture was perfect - him in his custom tux, her in the emerald dress, standing in front of the BMW with genuine smiles and love in their eyes. The caption read: "Prom 2024 with my favorite person ❤️ #PerfectNight #OfficiallyMine"
"Baby, look at these numbers," Ayana said, scrolling through the engagement. "2.8 million likes, 340,000 comments, and it's been shared everywhere."
"That's insane," Tristain said, reading over her shoulder while eating his cereal.
"And look at some of these comments," she continued, trying not to laugh. "'Why couldn't this be me?' 'My heart is literally broken.' 'I can't believe he's taken.' 'She's so lucky.' There's like thousands of girls crying in these comments."
"Sorry I broke their hearts," Tristain said with a grin.
"No you're not," Ayana shot back. "You love that they're jealous."
"Maybe a little," he admitted. "But I only care about one person's opinion."
"Good answer," she said, standing up to give him a proper good morning kiss. "That's why you're my boyfriend."
Tom and Lisa Sayana watched the interaction from across the kitchen with amused expressions.
"Y'all are disgusting," Lisa said with a smile. "But also adorable."
"About time y'all made it official," Tom added. "We've been watching this slow burn for months."
"Slow burn?" Tristain raised an eyebrow.
"Boy, you've been making heart eyes at my daughter since day one," Lisa said. "We were wondering when you'd work up the courage to ask her properly."
"Well, now it's official," Ayana said, grabbing Tristain's hand. "He's stuck with me."
"Lucky me," Tristain said, squeezing her hand.
The casual physical affection was new - holding hands while walking to the car, quick kisses when no one was looking, the comfortable way she leaned against him while they watched TV. Everything felt more natural now that they didn't have to hide their feelings.
---
The county track meet was Tristain's first major competition since the tournament, and the attention was intense. Local news crews, college scouts, and what seemed like half the school had shown up to watch.
"Nervous?" Coach Torres asked as Tristain warmed up for his first event.
"Always," Tristain admitted. "But good nervous."
"Good. Channel that energy. You've been running personal bests in practice all week."
The 100m was first. Tristain lined up in lane 4, knowing the school record of 10.23 was within reach if everything went perfect.
Just run. Don't think about the cameras or the crowd.
"Set..."
BANG!
Tristain exploded out of the blocks, his form looking smooth and powerful. At 50 meters, he was even with the field. At 80 meters, he started to pull away slightly.
He crossed the finish line knowing it was close.
"Time!" the announcer called. "Lane 4, Tristain Dyce, 10.24! Just one hundredth off the school record!"
The crowd erupted. 10.24 was fast enough to win the race easily, but missing the school record by .01 seconds was frustrating.
"Damn," he muttered, checking the scoreboard. "So close."
"That was incredible!" Ayana yelled from the stands. "You almost had it!"
The 200m was two hours later. The school record was 20.89, and Tristain felt good warming up.
Relax. Trust your training.
This time in lane 5, Tristain came out of the turn in second place. Down the homestretch, he found another gear, pulling away from the field with each stride.
"Time! Lane 5, Tristain Dyce, 20.91! Another incredible run, just two hundredths off the school record!"
Again, a dominant win but just shy of the record. The crowd was going crazy, but Tristain was shaking his head.
"Two hundredths," he said to Coach Torres. "I can't believe it."
"You're right there," Torres said. "State meet's in two weeks. You'll get it then."
But the long jump was different. Tristain had been working on his approach all season, and everything felt perfect.
His first jump: 23'2" - a personal best and automatic state qualifier.
His second jump: foul by inches.
His third jump: 23'8" - another personal best and well over the state qualifying mark.
"Yes!" he yelled, pumping his fist. The state qualifying standard was 22'6", and he'd blown past it.
The 4x400 relay was the final event. Tristain ran the anchor leg, getting the baton with North Bridgeton in third place.
Time to bring it home.
He moved into second at 200 meters, then pulled even with the leader coming into the homestretch. In the final 50 meters, Tristain found that extra gear that separated good athletes from great ones.
North Bridgeton won by two meters, running 3:18.45 - fast enough to qualify for state.
"State qualifiers in two events!" Coach Torres shouted as the team celebrated. "Long jump and 4x400!"
"And almost had two school records," Tristain said, still thinking about those close misses.
"Almost doesn't count," his teammate Jake said. "But state qualifying does. You're going to be competing against the best in Indiana."
State meet. Three events. Time to show what all this training was for.
---
Despite track season being in full swing, football practice continued three days a week. The combination was exhausting, but Tristain knew it was keeping him in peak condition for the summer tournaments.
"How you feeling, superstar?" Marcus asked as they stretched before practice.
"Tired as hell," Tristain admitted. "Track meet yesterday, practice today, homework tonight. It's a lot."
"But you're handling it," Elijah observed. "Looking good on the track too. Saw the highlights."
"Almost broke two school records," Deshawn added. "Key word being almost."
"Don't remind me," Tristain groaned. "One hundredth and two hundredths. That's gonna haunt me."
"You'll get them at state," Jaylen said confidently. "Plus, you qualified in two events. That's huge."
Practice was focused on conditioning and skill work, preparing for Tampa in ten days. Coach Milton had them running 7-on-7 drills, working on timing and precision.
"Looking sharp out there, Dyce," Coach Milton said after a particularly good series. "Track's keeping you in good shape."
"Yes sir. Legs feel good, arm feels good."
"Good. Because Tampa's going to be a different level. Every team there will be elite."
The media attention at practice was still intense. Three different news crews were filming, and Tristain could see college scouts in the stands taking notes.
"You getting used to all this?" Coach Taylor asked, noticing Tristain glance at the cameras.
"Getting there. It's weird, but I'm dealing with it."
"Good. Because it's only going to get more intense as you get better."
More intense. Hard to imagine, but I believe him.
---
After a long week of practice and competition, the Flight Boys decided to have a low-key night at Marcus's house. No parties, no pressure, just teammates hanging out and playing video games.
"Yo, T brought snacks," Deshawn announced as Tristain walked in with bags from the expensive grocery store.
"Expensive snacks," Carlos observed, looking at the brands. "Boy's really living different now."
"It's just food," Tristain said, but he was smiling. "Figured I'd contribute to the cause."
"Contribute?" Elijah laughed. "You brought like $200 worth of food."
"Two hundred dollars?" Jaylen's eyes went wide. "For snacks?"
"I wanted good stuff," Tristain shrugged. "Sue me."
They settled into their usual routine - 2K on one TV, Madden on another, random conversations and trash talk filling the room.
"So how's the girlfriend treating you?" Marcus asked with a grin.
"Amazing," Tristain said immediately. "It's different now that it's official. Better."
"Different how?" Terrell asked.
"I don't know, just... easier. We don't have to pretend anymore. We can just be together."
"That's sweet as fuck," Deshawn said. "Y'all are like a real couple now."
"We were a real couple before, just not officially."
"Officially makes a difference though," Elijah said. "Now you can post her, claim her, all that."
"Already did. That prom post broke the internet."
"Broke hearts too," Jaylen added. "My sister said her group chat was in mourning."
"Her group chat?" Tristain laughed.
"They had a whole funeral for their chances with you. Apparently they've been planning to shoot their shot since the tournament."
"Well, too late now," Tristain said. "I'm taken."
"Happily taken," Marcus observed.
"Very happily taken."
"Good for you, man," Carlos said seriously. "You deserve to be happy. All this success means nothing if you're not happy."
"Facts," the team agreed.
"I am happy," Tristain said, looking around at his teammates. "Got my brothers, got my girl, got opportunities I never dreamed of. Life is good."
"Life is great," Deshawn corrected. "And it's about to get even better when we destroy Tampa."
"Speaking of Tampa," Marcus said, "y'all see who's gonna be there?"
"Who?" everyone asked.
"IMG Academy, Bishop Gorman, St. John Bosco... basically every powerhouse program in the country."
"Good," Tristain said, his competitive edge showing. "Time to prove we belong with the big boys."
"We already proved that in Chicago," Elijah pointed out.
"Chicago was just the beginning," Tristain said. "Tampa's where we show the whole country what Flight Boys football looks like."
"I like that energy," Jaylen said. "Let's fucking go show them what championship teams look like."
"Championship teams with celebrity quarterbacks," Terrell added with a grin.
"Celebrity?" Tristain made a face.
"Bro, you're on ESPN every week, you got millions of followers, and your prom post went viral. You're definitely a celebrity."
"I'm just a high school quarterback."
"A high school quarterback who's dating a baddie, driving rental BMWs, and breaking hearts on social media," Deshawn said. "That's celebrity status."
"Whatever," Tristain laughed. "I'm just trying to play good football."
"And you are," Marcus said seriously. "Better than good. Elite level."
"We all are," Tristain corrected. "Flight Boys are elite level."
"Facts," everyone agreed.
As the night went on, they rotated through games, shared stories from the week, and planned for Tampa. The easy brotherhood, the natural trash talk, the way they could just be teenagers despite all the attention - it kept Tristain grounded.
This is what matters. These guys, Ayana, the game. Everything else is just noise.
---
Tristain woke up Saturday morning to find Ayana already awake, scrolling through her phone in bed next to him. They'd started having these lazy Saturday morning talks since becoming official.
"Morning, babe," she said, showing him her phone. "Look at this."
It was a sports blog article titled "The Tristain Dyce Effect: How One Tournament Changed Everything." The article talked about his rise to fame, his relationship with Ayana, and his impact on North Bridgeton's profile.
"They're really analyzing our relationship?" he asked, reading over her shoulder.
"Apparently we're 'couple goals' and 'the perfect high school romance,'" she said with a laugh. "It's weird having strangers analyze our relationship."
"Everything's weird now," Tristain said. "But good weird."
"Good weird?"
"Yeah. Weird that I have money, weird that people know who I am, weird that you're officially my girlfriend..." He pulled her closer. "But all good weird."
"I like being your official girlfriend," she said, curling up against his chest.
"I like having an official girlfriend."
"Even with all the attention it brings?"
"Especially with all the attention it brings. Let everyone know you're mine."
"Possessive much?" she teased.
"When it comes to you? Absolutely."
Official girlfriend. State qualifying athlete. Championship quarterback. Celebrity status. This is my life now.
As they lay there together, Tristain reflected on how much everything had changed in just a few months. From third string to famous, from single to taken, from unknown to state qualifier.
But the core things that mattered - his teammates, his girl, his love of football - those hadn't changed. They'd just gotten better.
Tampa in ten days. Time to show the world what we're really about.