Rivals

Note: This story does a little time-travelling. Keep an eye on the timestamps if you get lost. Also, I know that COVID has shut down schools and their activities, but I hope you can ignore that for the sake of the story.

1. All characters participating in sex are 18+

2. No characters represent real people

3. Enjoy the fiction

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RIVALS

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[Saturday, April 20, 2019, 5:47 pm]

Andrew closed his eyes and waited for them to name the winner. They'd just given third place to an Asian kid named Yen Chang. That meant it was down to Andrew, and... her.

"The winner of this year's Intercity Academic Decathlon, Junior Division, is..."

Andrew prayed. Please say my name. Please say my name. Just don't say her name.

"Megan Mason!"

Andrew opened his eyes and frowned. The audience cheered. Even for those who were rooting for him, Andrew knew it would be disrespectful to boo. She'd beaten him fairly. Again.

Andrew Collins was the smartest kid at Franklin East High School. He'd gotten straight A's in every top-level class so far. It wasn't even a question between him and other top students, most of whom were his friends.

But every year since 9th grade, he'd come to this Intercity Academic Decathlon, which split the students up by year. And each of those years, this year included, he'd come in second place. And guess who came in first all three years?

Megan Mason. Andrew looked at her as she hefted her third first-place trophy. Megan was the smartest student at Franklin West, the school across town, the rival school. Her blonde hair was a little stringy, and her large glasses hid part of her face. Her body was slim and small, as if she still hadn't grown into it.

Andrew knew that feeling. He also was a late-bloomer. At 17, he was still skinny, though he'd had a growth spurt this year and was now 6-foot-1. He'd grown out his brown hair past his ears, so it usually looked shaggy and unkempt.

Andrew was handed a silver trophy and he trudged off the stage, so the announcers could give trophies to the seniors. His parents were sitting on the right side of the auditorium, but he found his friends on the left. Mikey had been Andrew's best friend since middle school. He was blonde and had been kinda chubby, but he'd grown taller and thinner recently.

Manny was next to him. The raven-haired Latina was pretty, in a plain girl-next-door kind of way. Most of the popular guys didn't bother with her because she was way too smart for them. Those that did quickly found out the hot-blooded Latina wasn't interested, especially if you called her by her given name, Manuela. A few months ago, Manny and Mikey had started dating. It had initially weirded out Andrew, but he was happy that they made each other happy.

They didn't pay any attention to the rest of the ceremony. "Tough break, Andrew," said Mikey. "I know you really wanted to win this year."

"Yeah," Andrew replied, sinking down in his seat.

"But you got second," Manny pointed out. "All the smartest kids in the city, you're number two."

Andrew only groaned. Mikey spoke instead. "It's not just the ranking, it's her."

"Who? That Megan girl?"

Andrew finally joined the conversation. "Number two be fine if I could be number one once in a while. Megan Mason has beaten me three years in a row."

"Hey little man." A hand clamped down on Andrew's shoulder from the row behind him.

"Hey Josh." Andrew grunted at his big brother.

"Good job out there today. Mom and Dad are super proud." Josh grinned. He was a big-time athlete before he graduated, and was always big into the fabricated rivalry between East and West high schools. Smart too, but not as smart as Andrew. He'd earned scholarships to play football and baseball at State. To top it off, Josh had girls lined up to date him.

"You know I'm almost as tall as you are," Andrew pointed out. "I'm not a little man anymore."

"I know, just a habit." Josh rubbed his little brother's shoulders. Though Josh had been somewhat of a jerk to other geeks in high school, he'd always been supportive of Andrew. "I was really hoping you'd take down that chick from West this year."

"Yeah. Me too. Maybe next year."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," Josh said. "In fact, I want to help."

"Help?" Andrew turned to look at his brother. "How can you help?"

"Listen little brother," Josh pointed at the stage. "The categories are changing next year. There's going to be a Fitness category."

That was news to Andrew. "There is?"

"And look at that Megan girl." Josh pointed her out. "You think she's winning any fitness awards?"

Andrew did look. Megan was basically pretty scrawny. Flat-chested, not much to look at, but also not much there for muscles. "Probably not."

"Definitely not. And you, little man," Josh flexed his own muscles, "will have your very own personal trainer."

Andrew's eyes lit up. "You mean it?"

"Of course. We'll show that puny girl what happens when you mess with the Collins brothers."

--

[Saturday, April 25, 2020, 8:15 am]

Andrew was reviewing the list of Decathlon categories in the back seat of Mikey's old mini-van, the car he'd inherited when his mom got a new one. It was a comfortable back seat. Andrew tried to ignore the fact that Mikey had admitted he'd had sex with Manny in that back seat about a week ago.

Mikey and Manny sat up front as the car pulled into the parking lot. Andrew's parents would arrive later for the awards ceremony, so Andrew was glad to ride with his friends. Josh wasn't able to attend, but he'd sent his best regards the previous evening.

Andrew felt completely different than he did last year. He'd gained another inch in height, but he'd bulked up a lot. Josh immediately took him to the pool the previous summer, and got him doing laps, as well as running and other exercises. But in the pool, Andrew found a new niche. Turns out, he was a good swimmer, and the school's swim coach saw him and put him on the team. Andrew now sported his letterman's jacket, and had a new gold trophy in his room: Franklin East High School Swim Team, District Champions.

But he was after another gold trophy today. The one he'd wanted for years now. Today was the day he was going to beat Megan Mason. The swim team didn't deter Andrew from his academic successes, and he'd gotten straight A's again, and several college scholarship offers.

Andrew and his friends hopped out of the van, and he straightened up his letterman jacket. He felt good, confident, and ready. Mikey and Manny flanked him like they were his posse. He felt like a boxer entering the ring, and they were his coaches.

At the sign-in table ahead of him, there was a cute blonde girl getting her name tag and information. Andrew checked her out. Nice ass, he thought. Really nice body overall. Her blonde hair was almost luxuriously long, cascading to her shoulders. The white knee-length dress she wore complimented her features, and her long legs ended in her cute feet shown in open-toed sandals.

He continued to watch as she turned around and smiled at him, and he smiled back. "Hi," he said.

"Hi. Good luck today."

"You too." He watched the hot blonde walk away, stunned in her beauty. Her walk was graceful and sexy.

"Dude," Mikey said, poking him in the side.

"What? Sorry, what?" Andrew snapped out of it and refocused on his friends.

"Why'd you wish her luck?" asked Manny.

"Why not?"

Manny and Mikey shared a look. "Don't you know who that was?" Manny asked him.

"Who? The girl? No."

"That was Megan."

"Megan?" Andrew said, dreamily. What a pretty name, he thought.

Manny snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Megan Mason!" she hissed at him. "You just wished good luck to your rival!"

Andrew snapped back to reality. "That was Megan Mason?" He was stunned at the transformation. "But she was... she was..."

"She was hot," Mikey finished. Manny hit him in the shoulder. "What? I'm just saying she's prettier than she used to be."

It was an understatement. Gone were the huge glasses, replaced by contact lenses. Gone was the stringy messy hair and the flat chest. In a single year, Megan had gone from a small, skinny girl to young woman with curves in all the right places.

Manny still gave him and angry look, but conceded, "Okay, yes, she's prettier than last year. She must have grown up a bit." She grabbed Andrew by the shoulders and shook him. "But remember, you came here to beat her."

Andrew shrugged it off, trying to get back into the zone. "Right. I'm gonna crush her."

Mikey grinned and gave him a fist-bump. "Yeah, that's the spirit."

--

The Decathlon was, unsurprisingly, ten subjects that would be taught in high school. Each student would take tests, or do some other demonstration of skills, in front of qualified teachers from all over the city. Those teachers would determine the scores for each student out of 100, and the sum of those scores would be added up to determine the overall winner.

This year, Fitness had been added to the list of ten. To make room, Music and Art had been combined into a single category, Fine Arts. Andrew realized that this was significant, as he'd placed first in Music last year, and Megan had won Art. So, Fitness would likely help to put Andrew over the top.

The day was divided into ten periods, and the students' schedules were randomly shuffled, so Andrew might see Megan in a couple periods. He hoped he wouldn't be distracted if that happened.

And it happened right away. Andrew entered the first classroom and saw Megan sitting there, along with a couple of other students. She smiled and waved. He couldn't resist smiling back. It's a good thing Manny didn't see that, he thought, she'd probably snap at him.

The first classroom was hosting a history test. Andrew sat a few rows behind Megan. He couldn't help but look up occasionally at her long blonde locks, her cute body, but each time he shook his head to clear his mind and get back to the test. Despite the distraction, he felt he did well.

The second period was thankfully without Megan, though Andrew did recognize Yen, who'd won third place last year. They respectfully nodded to each other before they dove into a difficult-but-manageable math test. It included lots of geometry, algebra, and calculus.

Manny and Mikey met Andrew in the hallway. Mikey was carrying Andrew's bag, which held snacks and any other supplies the trio would need. Manny was keeping track of Andrew's scores as they were posted, but was also trying to keep tabs on Megan.

"You got her in the History round, Andrew," Manny announced.

"Really?"

"Yep," Manny grinned. "98 to 96. You're already two points ahead."

Andrew sighed. "That's a relief. I have to admit, she's distracting."

Manny punched him in the arm. "No distractions. Now, third period is Fine Arts. Go win this thing."

Andrew did his best. Each student had to choose between music and art, so Andrew easily selected music, but he spotted Megan going into the art room next door. There was a brief written exam, which he blew through quickly. Then he wowed judges with his piano skills on a Chopin prelude. It wasn't just a technically difficult piece. He played with passion and heart, and he saw one of the judges nodding and smiling. Andrew grinned when he finished, knowing he'd aced this round.

Manny and Mikey met him in the hall. "Nice playing, Maestro," Mikey said, handing him a water bottle and a granola bar. "Two more periods before lunch." All three of them were smiling until they saw Megan leave the art room with a big smile on her face. Her eyes got wide when she saw Andrew, as her cheeks flushed, and she quickly walked away and around the corner.

"Do you remember what she did in Art last year?" asked Manny.

Andrew scratched his head. "Umm... she drew something? No, I think maybe she painted. I remember it being colorful. And very realistic. I admit, it was really good."

--

Andrew successfully avoided Megan the fourth and fifth periods. He took a biology test, followed by an English test that was mostly vocabulary and grammar. Neither was one of his stronger subjects. He was looking forward to the afternoon, when he'd do Government and Chemistry, as well as the Fitness test.

Manny was tabulating the scores as Andrew ate lunch. Mikey kept him company, which was good. They chatted about non-school things to give his mind a break. Andrew wanted to be relaxed before he started having to use his brain again.

"Good news and bad news," Manny reported, sliding onto the bench next to Mikey. "You did great in Math and Fine Art, of course. Both 100's."

Mikey fist-pumped the air. Andrew asked, "What's the bad news?"

"Megan also got 100 in Fine Art. And she did Math fourth period, and got 100 there too."

Andrew rolled his eyes. "So those two rounds were a draw. What about the others?"

"They haven't posted your English score yet. But you got a 95 in Biology."

Andrew nodded. "Okay. I can live with that."

Manny shook her head. "No, you can't. Megan took Biology second period and got a 97."

He ran the numbers in his head. "So, we're tied?"

"So far, yes." Manny saw a teacher heading to post more scores. "I'll keep you posted. Mikey, take our champion here to the next period."

"You got it, coach," Mikey saluted. When she'd gone, he shook my arm. "Don't worry about it. You've got this."

--

Andrew took the Chemistry test for the sixth period, and felt really good about it. It was one of his favorite subjects. Something about the beakers and chemicals made perfect sense to him.

Mikey met him in the hall and shoved his gym clothes at him. "Fitness is next," his friend told him. "Go change."

"Where's Manny?"

"Outside," Mikey replied. "Waiting for us."

As the boys went down the hall for the locker room, they passed the art room. Some teacher was displaying today's work products on a table in the hall. One painting caught Andrew's eye. He skidded to a stop and stared at it. It was good. He knew, even without labels, it was Megan's work.

The painting captured a small boy with brown hair, and a small girl with blonde hair, sitting across from each other at a table. Both were looking downwards, and blushing, as if too shy to talk to each other. The scene seemed eerily familiar to Andrew, and he was frozen by it until Mikey yanked on his arm, urging him, "Come on, let's go!"

The boys went into the locker room and Andrew quickly changed into his gym shorts and t-shirt, before they both went outside. Mikey patted Andrew on the back, and was going to sit with Manny in the stands, when they both froze at the sight before them.

Megan was there, stretching. She'd changed too, out of the cute white dress and into a pink sports bra and short black shorts. Andrew gasped. Her midriff showed off her perfect navel, and the bra showcased a little of her ample cleavage. She certainly had grown up since last year, he thought.

"Hey! Mikey! Get your ass up here!" Manny called down.

Mikey looked at his friend and simply said, "Good luck, dude."

Andrew huffed, and went to gather with the rest of the students, and with the coaches who were there. Andrew recognized his swim coach in the group, who gave him a smiling nod.

One of the other coaches spoke up when they were all present. "Good afternoon. This exam consists of three parts. First, forty sit-ups. Then, you must complete twenty pushups to our satisfaction. Finally," he gestured at the track. "You must run a mile. That's four laps. You have to complete all three phases in 25 minutes to get full credit."

Easy, thought Andrew. Each student got down into sit-up position, and a coach stood near each one. He saw his swim coach standing over Megan. Another coach, one he didn't recognize stood over him. The lead coach yelled, "Ready?", then blew his whistle.

Andrew wasted no time. This was his event to win. He completed his sit-ups, then flipped over to do the push-ups. He realized that most of the other students in the Decathlon were nerds and Fitness would not be their strength. Especially push-ups. The poor girl next to him was really struggling to do her first one, and Andrew was already finishing. His swimming had given him ample upper-body strength.

He was the first to get up and start running the mile. Mikey and Manny cheered from the stands. All the extra work with Josh, and with the swim coach, was going to pay off.

As he completed the first half-lap, turning to see the others, he saw Megan get up and start running too. The other students were still finishing their push-ups. Andrew knew he had time to spare, but as he ran, he noticed that Megan was slowly catching up. As Andrew finished the second lap, Megan was only a quarter-lap behind. He finished his third lap and she was right on his tail.

Andrew didn't have to beat her in the race. He knew that. He'd get 100 just for completing everything in the allowed time, and he would easily do that. But now it was a point of pride. He pushed himself into high gear, and started to increase his lead a bit.

On the last quarter-lap, Megan closed the gap, and was soon running side by side with him. Oh no, thought Andrew, not today. He ran the last bit of distance at full speed, but so did she. In the end, she edged him out by a half-second, and Andrew was irritated. "What's your problem?" he said, gasping for air.

"What do you mean?" she asked, not as winded as he was.

"You can't let me win one? You just have to beat me four years in a row?"

"Aww. What's the matter?" Megan suddenly said. "Afraid of a little competition?" Then she walked away, practically strutting with a sexy confidence.

This time, Andrew was frozen, not just by her sex appeal, but by what she'd just said. Why did that sound so familiar? Andrew went into deep thought, then realized it.

[Saturday, April 22, 2017, 8:20 am]

"Hi," said the tiny blonde girl, to a ninth grade Andrew. She timidly sat down across from where he sat in the school cafeteria.

"Hi. I'm Andrew."

"I'm Megan." The two children gave each other shy smiles. That is, when they were brave enough to look at each other. Had anyone been watching closely, they might have seen the beginnings of something. The tiniest spark of something special. A small girl who was taking a small step outside of her comfort zone, to talk to a boy she thought was kinda cute. A small geeky boy who was certainly no ladies' man, had never even been on a date, and was flattered that any girl would bother to talk to him, especially this little cute one.

Then, out of nowhere, a hulking jock slammed down at the same table with a loud noise. "Hey, little man, got a little friend there? Or a rival?" asked the large twelfth grader. The sleeve of his letterman's jacket was emblazoned with the sports he'd excelled at: football, baseball, wrestling.

Megan was scared by his sudden arrival and loud voice, and the large boy saw it. "Aww, what's the matter, afraid of a little competition?" said the large, laughing teenage boy, and the tiny girl stood up and ran away.

[Saturday, April 25, 2020, 2:26 pm]

Andrew was still watching Megan walk away when his swim coach came up and clapped him on the shoulder. "My god, Andrew, that was amazing."

"But I didn't win."

The coach patted him on the shoulder and led him to a bench to sit. "Don't you know who that was?"

"Megan Mason." Andrew hated the words as they came out of his mouth.

"Yeah, Megan Mason. She led her school to the district championship in track this year." Andrew just looked at him. "And you held your own with her. Fantastic job!"

"Oh. Okay," was all Andrew could say. He guessed he didn't do so bad after all.

"I've got to get ready for the next period, and so do you," said the coach, "and here's your entourage." Manny and Mikey walked up. "I'll see you at the end, Andrew. I'm proud of you."