Tristan woke up to his alarm clock playing on of the most current rock hits, and glaring its red 6:23 A.M. at him. He hit the snooze button and turned away from the offending piece of electrical equipment. The clock began screaming at him again nine short minutes later.
This time, Tristan's mother had joined in with the offending clock. He hit the clock again and ignored his mom, falling asleep again very quickly.
Around three minutes later his little sister came into his room after softly knocking on the door. She carried her cat with its front legs drooping over her arms. She kissed Tristan's cheek and threw her cat on him for good measure.
Tristan was instantaneously wide awake.

Exactly forty-three minutes later found Tristan meeting his closest friend, Kyle Richards. A few minutes of catching up from the weekend followed, and then the best part of Tristan's day occurred.
"Hey man, look. It's - " Kyle was cut off by Tristan's dream filled voice.
"Erikka Sanders," Tristan replied, "My personal 'Liquid Dream'. Too bad she doesn't know who I am, huh?" Tristan shrugged and turned away from his dream girlfriend. She wasn't popular, but she was smart and very pretty. She looked like she was waiting for someone.
"Dude, you need to stop listening to that O-Town song. Why don't you just go talk to her? She's single after all," Kyle said. "What the - "
Tristan saw the look of pure and helpless terror in Kyle's face. He spun around and somehow saw into the near future, and new that he should change it.
He took off, and a million things happened at once.
"Erikka! Watch out!" someone cried out.
A girl screamed in fear.
All motion seemed to stand still as so many heads turned to see what was going on.
Tristan ran across the street.
Wheels screeched as brakes were slammed.
The sickening sound of a car hitting a body filled the air.
The body was thrown fifteen feet from where the car had hit it, and the wet thud as it slammed into the ground.
Two names were screamed simultaneously.
"Erikka!"
"Tristan!"
Kyle ran forward to his friend, who lay motionless on his back, on the paved ground, twenty feet from the accident site.
"Tristan! Tristan you can't die on me! Hold on, dude!" Kyle wanted to shake Tristan until he opened his eyes, wanted to hit and kick his best friend until he opened his eyes, but he was afraid. What if Tristan's back or neck were broken? "Tristan!"

Erikka walked over, limping as she stepped on her left foot, which had begun swelling.
"Oh . . . my . . . oh my . . . " she couldn't finish and she dropped to her knees in tears.
Tristan opened one eye half way and saw Erikka, kneeling by him, crying for him.
"G-good," he whispered, too weak to talk, "You're o-okay. I had h- hoped that y-you would b-be."
"Why? Why! Why die? Why die for me! What am I to you!" Erikka demanded.
Tristan chuckled, which led to coughing, "If I could m-move my hand, I-I'd touch your che-cheek. I've w-wanted to for s-s-so long n-now."
"Tristan? Tristan hold on! Don't die, Tristan!" Kyle said.
"K-Kyle. I guess I d-did become her h-hero, didn't I? I actually s- saved someone's l-life," Tristan said. In the distance he could hear the ambulance. He wondered who had called. It wasn't Erikka, and it wasn't Kyle . . . maybe some stranger that actually wanted to help.
In less than five minutes, Tristan was strapped to the gurny in the ambulance, being rushed to the Copperville hospital. Erikka was next to him, by her own request, for him. The man who had caused the accident suffered no injury, but had been arrested for DUI. Erikka held Tristan's hand, even though she didn't even know him, and listened to his mumbling as he lost consciousness and as he slipped into a coma.
At the hospital, Erikka and Tristan were seperated. Erikka was released after her ankle had been x-rayed and bandaged, and after she had received her crutches. She went strait to the waiting room to hear news of Tristan. He was still in the E.R. being worked on. He had received many long cuts and some nasty bruises.
Tristan was admitted into the Intensive Care unit of the hospital. Erikka explained to the nurse for the hundredth time what had occurred and she was allowed to be with Tristan until his family came.
Erikka entered the room quietly, as though Tristan would wake at the slightest noise. Of course, the second she felt she was as loud as an elephant, which she could have been. She sat in the chair by Tristan's bed and looked at him. He was probably just a little older than her, which was sixteen. She smiled shyly, if he was seventeen he would have a car. His hair was dark brown, and, when his eyes had been open, they had been a dark blue. His skin was also dark. He was short, at five-ten, but Erikka was only five-two. She pushed a little bit of Tristan's hair from his forehead, and as she was doing so the door opened.
"Tristan?" A voice asked.