We drive the roads of Alabama, I-65 to be exact. There is about one more hour before we reach Navarre, Christina and I's new home. Ever since my parents were in a car wreck in April last year, I've been living with Christina and her family. We were best friends and have been since fourth grade when she transferred to my school. Her family took me in since my only living relative was my brother, Caleb and he is in college. We're the same age, so he should also be sixteen and going into his junior year of high school, but he was excepted into a program where he will graduate early and go into some kind of science studying at a university. Both of our families lived in Chicago until Caleb left for New York for his study and us for Christina's dad, who got moved because of his job.
We stop at a gas station and Christina runs inside to use the bathroom and grab drinks while I fill the tank. I've been driving the entire way being that the car is my father's old 2010 Mustang Convertible. I finish filling the tank and pull up to the parking spaces in front of the store. She comes out a few minutes later with a plastic bag and sits in the passenger seat, handing me a bottle of Coke.
"Can we put the top down now?" Christina begs.
I give her a curt nod and pull my sunglasses out of the console. As soon as the top is down and locked in place, we pull out of the gas station and continue the now four and a half hour drive from Birmingham Alabama. Christina plugs her phone in and plays her party music list. Back in Chicago we were probably the two most popular girls in our school, and had a lot of parties. The songs bring back memories of dancing with our old friends and playing truth or dare. Christina will probably end up making us popular again at this school somehow, and it will go back to the same thing: parties every Friday night, waking up on Saturday and going to the mall and movies after recovering from hangovers. It just won't be the same, though. Hopefully, it will be better, but I doubt it.
The scenery is beautiful, especially on the bridges crossing over rivers and trees. Together, Chris and I sing every song on the playlist as it runs through. We Can't Stop by Miley Cyrus comes on and she turns around in the seat and twerks. I silently thank God that there are few people around, and the ones that are are driving a good distance behind us. We come to the bridge of the song and I sing full out the whole way through, without noticing that Christina stopped long ago. Bang Bang comes on next, and starts before she has time to talk. I jump in singing Ariana's part and Christina waiting for Nicki's. Our old friend Hannah used to sing Jessie J's. It feels weird to be the only one singing for as long as I do. I feel her staring, but ignore it. I'm used to the attention. Beauty and a Beat is on next, bringing back memories of Jason who insisted he could do Justin Bieber's voice in this song, and ultimately failed. I sing it and Chris, as usual, takes Nicki Minaj's part.
It is six-thirty when we arrive at Christina's family's new house, or our new house. It is a beautiful three story mansion like home with six bedrooms, four full bathrooms and one half. The kitchen, living room, half bathroom, and one of the bedrooms with an attached bathroom are on the first floor. The bedroom on that floor will be Christina's parent's. On the second floor there is a playroom, a full bathroom, and two bedrooms. One of the bedrooms will be Christina's little sister's. The other bedroom will be an extra. On the third floor are two bedrooms with attached full bathrooms for each. One will be mine and the other Christina's. Honestly I'm thankful that I don't have to share a bedroom with her anymore. I love Christina but I don't need to be involved in her personal life. I have walked into the bedroom several times to her making out with whatever guy she happened to meet at the most recent party. Once they were even topless as I walked in with one of my old guy friends to work on a project. We ended up finishing that project in the hallway.
Christina jumps out of the car as soon as we park in the driveway. She squeals and jumps up and down while I drag bags and suitcases out of the trunk and set them down on the black top. Picking hers up, Christina runs down the walkway to the front door of the grand yellow house and glances back at me just laughing at her before running inside. She sets down her bags and goes to check out the first floor and I go up the stairs, stopping at a landing. The playroom is to the left and a hallway to the right with two bedrooms at the end and a bathroom on the right side closest to the playroom. I head up to the third floor using the staircase connected to the one used to get to the second floor. On the third floor I drop my bags at the top of the stairs and walk around to check out the bedrooms and bathrooms. There is one at the end of the hallway and one to the left side. I look through both and find that they are identical as are the attached bathrooms. I take the one to the left side of that hallway for the view from the bay window on the wall across from the door. The bathroom is my favorite part of the room; it has a whirlpool bath tub with a separate glass door shower, a large mirror with one sink and a toilet as well as a TV overlooking the tub. Even the placement of the TV is perfect so that there is no glare from the window. I go back to the top of the stairs and grab my bags. Christina starts up the second staircase and looks up at me.
"Which one did you take?"
"I'd like the one on the left, but you can have whichever you want. They are identical."
"You can have the left."
"You haven't even seen them yet, though." We walk down the hall side by side, pulling our bags behind us.
She stops and turns to me. "You can have it."
I walk into the room and set my bags down. Our furniture isn't set to be here till tomorrow evening, along with Christina's parents and sister. As soon as my bags are down and I've roamed the room and bathroom another time, I head into Christina's room to find her sitting in the cushionless bay window, staring out at the large piece of land.
"Hey," I say, walking in slowly with my hands in my back pockets.
"Hey."
"What do you want to do? We don't have any furniture so we can't unpack or anything." Christina takes a moment to think it over, and then her eyes light up and I'm almost afraid of what she is thinking.
"Beach! That's it! Let's go hang out on the beach, maybe pick up some hot guys." She wiggles her eyebrows and I laugh.
"I guess that sounds fun. But what would your parents think? And are we just going to end up passed out in the sand and wake up with major hangovers tomorrow or will we be sensible?" She giggles and I know what that means. I'll need to pack two bottled waters and at least four ibuprofen's.
Ten minutes later we're getting into my car with our swimsuits on. I wear a pair of jean shorts and a lime green tank top that says PINK in pink sequins on it over the suit and Chris wears a sheer cover-up dress. It's a ten minute drive to the beach, not counting the stop at the drug store for water and ibuprofen. We find the beach with free parking and head out. On the stairs to the beach, the lifeguard stops us. There are two, and guy and a girl at the post. The girl starts talking while the guy stands, his arms crossed.
"Hi, I'm Shauna and this is Four," she gestures to the guy in sunglasses behind her, "and we're your lifeguards. Today the purple and yellow flags are up, which means dangerous marine life and medium hazard. We have people out there looking and if they see and shark, we'll blow the whistle once and you'll get out of the water. If we blow twice it's because somebody has gone too far out in the water. Three times means the lifeguards are now off duty and you'll have to watch out for yourself, we're no longer responsible for your safety. Anyway, enjoy your time on the beach!" Christina replies while the other lifeguard stares at me and I try not to notice.
"Thanks, I'm Christina and this is Tris," she points to me and I forge a smile.
"Cool, we should hang out sometime," Shauna smiles at us.
"Definitely," I say, breaking my gaze from the ground. We all smile at each other except the male lifeguard, who stands behind Shauna and continues to stare at me. He probably thinks I can't see through the sunglasses, idiot. I chuckle to myself and Christina gives me a weird look.
We get down to the beach and take off our clothes before joining the crowd of people dancing to music coming from one of the lifeguard posts. We quickly draw many more people toward the shore, and we're so tight packed that each of us is breathing the same air. Several eyes are on me as I sing the whole song Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding; it's one of my favorites. A boy in a lifeguard uniform walks up and smiles at me.
"Hey, my name is Peter."
"Mine is Tris." He looks at me with a malicious grin that makes me slightly uncomfortable.
"Give me your number," he says, thrusting his phone into my hands. I look up at him with raised eyebrows.
"I barely know you, and quite frankly your ego is taking up all the extra space in your life by the looks of it. I'd appreciate it if you left me alone. Unless that is, you want me to drop this," I hold the phone with only my index and middle finger, dangling it over the water.
"Come on now, let's not be a bitch. Tell me a little about yourself." I smirk at his sudden fear, and having found his weakness.
"Um, let's see…I have an older brother, Caleb, I sing a little, Christina and I just moved here from Chicago, I play guitar and piano," Four cuts me off.
"Peter, what are you doing? You know you have to stay at your station during hours. Get back to your post."
"Why? Lauren and Al are over there. All the other stations only have two people, so what does it matter if I leave for a couple minutes?"
"Do you want to lose your job?"
Peter sighs and smiles sadistically at Four, "You're using your father being the mayor or whatever and him giving you the head lifeguard job just to screw with me. It's just because you're an asshole. Luckily for Tris here, I got to her first so your little man-hoe self didn't." Four opens his mouth to say something, but Peter is already gone. He rolls his eyes and turns around, storming off. I snicker and turn back to the crowd, falling into the song again.
Four's POV
Peter the assface is surely fired now. I can fake my father's signature well enough by now. If I could get him to listen to me, he would fire whoever I said needed fired, but that's the problem. He's completely and totally negligent. Honestly it doesn't bother me much, though. He leaves money for lunch and groceries, clothes, gas, and anything else I might need. He's usually out at God knows where doing God knows what. This leaves me the whole mansion to myself, so I'm perfectly fine. Zeke, Uriah, and Will are over pretty much every night though, including school nights. I prefer them being here to sleeping alone in this huge home.
Anyway, Peter often leaves the post during hours to try to pick up girls. The one I didn't expect was Tris. I mean yes, she is beautiful and every guy on the beach seems to think so, judging by how they're crowded around her and her friend Christina. Something tells me that she won't be going away soon. Which means, I'm going to have to get over my…whatever this is towards Tris. But first, I'm going to have to figure out what it is. Do I like her? Do I love her? No, that's not possible, I barely know her. Maybe it's just her natural aura that says, I'm beautiful and have a great personality but a few little things make me think the opposite, and the guys swooning over me probably just want what every other teenage guy wants. I bet that's exactly what she's thinking…maybe it's just the need to change that.
"Four, Four…Four!" Shauna waves a hand in front of my face to break me out of my reverie. "Was Peter being a smart ass again? Or were you just mad because he was hanging around Tris?" She wiggles her eyebrows, is it really that obvious?
"Both, he knows he's not supposed to leave the post during hours but he does it pretty much daily. Also, I felt bad for Tris because of that, he screws every hot girl on the beach."
"I think you're also partially jealous because he got to her first."
"Well you think wrong. I'm dating Lauren."
"She asked you out. If it were the other way around I might believe you, but I think you said yes just to keep up your reputation of player Four. Tris is bringing out softie Four with her pretty looks and unique personality."
"How could I like her? I barely even know her."
"Dude, I know you stared at her the whole time they were up here." This takes me by surprise.
"You could tell?"
"Your sunglasses are transparent from both sides, Four." She laughs while I glare at her.
"So I like that she's pretty, and doesn't throw herself at me, and her taste in music is great," I gesture to her rapping Far Alone by G-Eazy and Shauna nods, impressed, "but it's true that I barely even know her, so I'm not sure yet. I would like to get to know her. Plus, Lauren would probably flip shit if she found out I like Tris, so don't talk about it."
"Don't worry, I've got a plan. They agreed to hangout sometime so when that time comes, hopefully your hoe of a girlfriend won't be there and you can get to know her. Maybe they'd agree to come over tonight or tomorrow night? I can ask if they want to spend the night with Lynn, Marlene, and I but go hang out with you, Zeke, Uriah, and Will's at your house before. That way you can talk to her, and when we leave I can find out who she likes." She wiggles her eyebrows and smirks. I have to admit, it's a good plan.
"Sounds like a deal. I'll text my dad and see where he'll be tonight so as not to repeat last week's incident." I chuckle and she shivers. Last week the gang came over to hang out for the evening (basically just until they were sober enough to go home) and we walked in to find my dad shirtless and a women sitting on him making out. The thought makes me want to puke. My father can do what he wants without me caring, but I don't want to know about it. Usually he at least takes them up to his room before taking it that far, so I don't have to see. He knows it still bothers me that he got over Mom so quickly. She died when I was seven, during childbirth. The child was stillborn so we got nothing except grief out of that deal. Well, I did. Dad seemed to get over it pretty quickly which leads me to believe he was having an affair or just never loved her. Either way, I wasn't happy about it, but I learned to live with it. The alarm from my phone signals the end of the shift, and Shauna blows her whistle three times. I pick up my jacket and flip flops, leaving the post with Shauna.
"So is there going to be a big speech for the end of today again?" She smiles up at me, referring to the speech I gave yesterday regarding people leaving their posts more than necessary.
"No, Shauna, just the usual dismissal."
We reach the huddle next to the main staircase and I walk to the middle. Slowly, I turn around; counting to make sure everyone is here. Lauren winks at me when I look over her. When I'm turned away I roll my eyes to Shauna slightly. She and Zeke are standing together, my best friends, so they understand me rolling my eyes. Once I'm sure everyone is here, I begin talking.
"Ok, nothing big today guys, just remember to stay at your stations during hours unless totally necessary which means somebody is drowning or being eaten by a shark," I give Peter a look, "that's all. See you all tomorrow at 7 sharp; anybody late is getting a referral to my father." Peter snickers and turns away, walking toward the crowd. Zeke, Uriah, Will, and Shauna follow me to my car, where I put my flip flops and lifeguard shirt.
"Hey man, can we put our stuff in there too for now?" Zeke asks, as he puts it in the back seat along with the four others.
"Well you already are so I guess I have to say yes."
"It wouldn't have mattered what you said anyway; it's not like Zeke listens." Shauna says, putting her arm over Zeke's shoulder. "So, are you going to tell them about Tris and Christina?" She wiggles her eyebrows and I roll my eyes. Zeke, Uriah, Marlene, Lynn, and Will all look at me expectantly.
"These girls, Christina and Tris came today and Shauna asked if they wanted to hang out sometime, after she gave the spiel and they agreed. Apparently my glasses are transparent on both sides, so Shauna found me staring at Tris, who probably also knows I was staring at her the entire time." I blush a little, but quickly cool my cheeks with my slightly less warm palms; Four doesn't blush.
"Ooh, looks like Four has a crush! Dude, we totally have to hook them up." Shauna, Will, Marlene, and Zeke nod at Uriah's statement. I roll my eyes again.
"If you keep rolling your eyes like that they're going to get stuck in that position," Marlene says, smirking.
"Good," I say, returning the expression. We walk back to the beach together and all the way to the shore before splitting up. I talk with Zeke and Will, and grab a beer from someone's cooler while Marlene and Shauna go talk to Tris and Christina. I watch and listen in on the girls, pretending to be involved in Will and Zeke's conversation about how hot Tris and Christina are. Shauna introduces Marlene, while they all dance and Tris raps. She continues to surprise me by knowing tons of rap songs.
I catch one piece of something Zeke says, "I think I'm skipping the rest of this song, I've heard it so many times."
I turn to him and tap his shoulder, "No, Zeke, look at Tris." He turns and looks at her, and a look of awe crosses over his face.
"Dude, she's rappin' the shit out of this!" We all watch and chuckle at Zeke's statement.
"I call dibs," I say, still laughing. Tris is different, and I need to be sure the other guys don't get to her first.
"Four, you have a girlfriend," Will states. Oh yeah, that bitch…
"Somebody talking about me?" Lauren walks up, planting a kiss on my cheek. I instinctively wipe my cheek, to get rid of the phantom feeling of her rough lips. The guys give me a look before turning around and talking quietly, probably about Lauren or Tris and Christina again.
"Actually they were just talking about those girls that Shauna invited to hang out with us," I say, pointing to them. Lauren cringes and I wonder if she feels threatened. I hope so.
"The blonde one's ugly," she says, laughing a little, "the darker one is ok, though." I look at her with my nose scrunched up.
"Don't be a bitch, Lauren."
"What the Hell, Four? I just said she's ugly, why are you defending her? Do you like her?" She crosses her arms and turns to me, one leg popped out. "I'm your girlfriend, not that ugly bitch." And there goes my temper, and her privilege to date me. If she slips up again, we're done, and I'll be sure she knows that.
"Not for much longer if you're going to keep acting like this!" She puts on a shocked look and I turn, walking back to a laughing Zeke and Will.
"Dude, that was good, you should've just broken up with her right then."
"How could she think Tris is ugly? Tris is beautiful." I say, completely ignoring Zeke's statement. I really couldn't understand how she could think Tris is ugly when in truth she is way more beautiful than Lauren could ever be.
"I know Tris is beautiful, and I know you're falling hard. Get rid of the bitch already!" Zeke says, not bothering to ask his ignored question again.
"I will, and hopefully before Tris knows about her." And my hopes are crushed right in front of my eyes. I tap Zeke on the shoulder, who gets Will's attention. We all watch in horror to see what will happen. Lauren is standing next to Tris, and taps on her shoulder. Tris turns around, still laughing at something Marlene had said. Lauren puts on a fake smile and her hands on her hips, before beginning talking.
"So I understand you're Tris?" She nods and looks at Lauren, confused. "Well you need to back off, Four is mine. We've been dating for two weeks now, and I don't need you ruining that with your ugly ass face. Got it?" Tris' face turns sour and she clenches her jaw. I can tell she is trying to control her anger, I do the same thing. Apparently, it doesn't work for her, judging by how she smacks Lauren's face so hard it turns red with a little white hand print on the right cheek.
"I didn't go after him, and I'm not trying to interfere with your pathetic two week length relationship. But just for that, if I decide I like Four, I will go after him whether you two are dating or not. So back the fuck off!" Tris yells the last part, and turns walking to me while Lauren cradles her cheek, still with the outline of Tris' hand. "Are you aware that your girlfriend is an asshat?" She says, crossing her arms. I nod, my mouth still wide open. "She also has a chronic case of RBF."
"What's RBF?" Zeke says, beating me to the punch.
"Resting bitch face. The only cure is plastic surgery," she looks to Lauren, "or ripping your skin off. The latter is more effective in her case." I crack up and Lauren looks at me again, shocked.
"What are you doing, Four? You told me I was beautiful!" I laugh, remembering how much effort it took to make that seem less fake when I'd told her.
"I lied." Tris looks satisfied, until Lauren walks back over.
"Well if he thinks you're so pretty, how about if I beat that pretty little face to a pulp so it's no longer good enough for him?"
Tris scoffs, "Go ahead and try." And Lauren does, throwing a punch at Tris' face, which Tris easily ducks and throws a punch at Lauren's stomach and successfully knocking the wind out of the ugly bitch. Tris traps her and repeatedly shoves her knee into Lauren's stomach. Eventually Lauren breaks free, and gets one punch in on Tris' jaw. This makes her mad, so she pins Lauren on the ground, straddling her, and punches Lauren in the face at least six times before Lauren finally passes out, screaming bitch three times. She stands up, sending one final kick to Lauren's ribs and nose, which immediately starts bleeding. "I hope that leaves a big nasty bruise." The girls laugh, and soon Zeke, Will, and I have joined in, along with most of the people on the beach. She then turns to me, giving an apologetic smile. "Sorry I mutilated your girlfriend."
"Don't be sorry, the bitch deserved it. I was planning on breaking up with her anyway. I'm not sure how to do it now that you've rendered her unconscious, though."
"I have an idea," Tris says, leading me to her beach tote. She pulls out a pad of blue sticky notes and a pen. We both smile evilly.
I place the sticky note that reads "we're done, Four" on her forehead. I hope she's devastated when wakes up and finds this. Tris giggles next to me, taking a picture. I look over her shoulder and find that she's got it on her story on snapchat. She finishes, closing her phone, and I turn away when she looks to me.
She holds up her phone, "I'm keeping that picture for the rest of my life, and I don't think it will ever be any less hilarious."
I laugh, "Can you send it to me?"
"Sure, here put in your number," she says, putting her phone in my hand, ready for a new contact. I put in my number with the simple name Four, but she adds the flexing arm emoji next to it. We both laugh, causing all our friends to smile at us knowingly. Tris gets an angry face and backhands Christina, who is wiggling her eyebrows.
"So what do you guys say we go over to Four's and hang out? We can go to my house and you guys can spend the night after." Shauna says.
"Perfect," Christina says, looking to Tris who nods.
Tris' POV
Soon, I've been introduced to the guys too, and Christina, Will, and I are in my car. Four drives with Uriah, Marlene, and Shauna in the backseat and Zeke in the passenger seat of his convertible. I put on my sunglasses and turn on the radio. Style by Taylor Swift comes on and I sing along, ignoring Will and Christina straining to listen from the backseat. I hear Will telling Christina something about how I'm an amazing singer, but I'm paying attention to something else; Four. He looks at me in the rear-view mirror constantly, so I try to look as attractive as possible. I run my fingers through my long blonde hair, my elbow resting on the door. The wind makes it impossible to control my hair, but I continue combing through it anyway. I check the mirror to make sure my sunglasses aren't transparent on both sides, and finding that they aren't, I look at Four. His hair is short, but nonetheless, blows in the wind. He has on sunglasses as well as his lifeguard shirt, which blows only where there is excess fabric on the sleeves. I look away and focus on the four passengers of his car. I continue watching them for a while, until something weird happens. They start on another topic, and judging by how he blushes, involves Four, and not in a way he would like to discuss with them. He says a few things, but stays quiet for the most part. Shauna and Zeke do the most talking. At one point, Uriah says something and Marlene smacks him on the arm, causing him to yell and grab his arm. I struggle to suppress my smile at this.
Four's home is a big mansion with a white fence extending from the front of the yard of the yellow villa type home, and ending somewhere in the back. There is property beyond the end of the home, a large piece of property which is entirely long grass field. The part inside the fence is short, green, freshly mowed grass with flowers bordering on the inside. They are of varying types, but I quickly spot my favorite, the orange tulip. They were also my mother's favorite, which is a good part of the reason I like them most. We pull into the driveway behind Four, who parks in the garage while we park right outside. I take off my sunglasses and fold them up, putting them back in the dashboard. Christina gets out and stares up at the home, a look of amazement on her face. You can tell everybody else has been here before by the way they get out and nonchalantly join us on the paved driveway.
Inside, the home has the lack of decorations. It is plain, mostly with grey furniture. We walk out the glass sliding door leading to the back yard, revealing a beautiful pool, an umbrella table, and several reclining deck chairs with yellow and white striped cushions. Everybody starts stripping their cover-ups and jumping in the pool, so I follow. Everybody gets in except Christina, who gets out our portable Bluetooth speaker, and starts the party playlist. The first song to come on is Tumblr Girls by G-Eazy. I immediately begin rapping the song, and Christina gives me a knowing look. I smile at her, and ignore the confused faces of our new friends. "Cause I'm in love with these Tumblr girls with skinny waists and drug habits, pretty faces love status, she acts as if she's the baddest. Man I swear she's just like tons of girls, she expects the free drinks. And I'm successful she thinks, always comes around…" I continue rapping while floating on my back, much to the amazement of everybody else except Christina. The end of the song comes eventually, and Christina stops the music momentarily.
"She's every musically talented. A good voice, great guitar and piano player. Seriously, she manages to amaze me and my family all the time. The only reason we kept my grandmother's old piano was because Tris played it beautifully. She had all her dad's guitars after….that, and she refuses to get rid of any of them." I look down as my cheeks redden, but see Uriah smile evilly and immediately feel afraid of what he is thinking.
"Why are you doing that?"
"Oh, I was just thinking about that grand piano in Four's basement…" He trails off, still smiling.
"Oh, no," I say, backing into the deeper part of the pool until my five foot two inch body is nearly engulfed, just my nose and up above the water. Uriah looks to Four, who in turn nods and starts coming towards me. I start swimming back, but don't get past seven foot. He stands somewhere between six and seven foot, and easily reaches out and grabs me. I struggle and fight it, but he holds me with ease. Once we're out of the water and I know there's no avoiding it, I agree to go and play, but Four refuses to put me down. He gets my towel and hands it to me before grabbing one for himself and following everybody else to the basement.
In the basement, there is a large flat screen TV, a big fish tank, tons of shelves full of movies and shows, and the famous grand piano, among other things. He sets me down on the piano bench and I run through songs in my head. I decide on Open to Love by Mark Pinkus. It is one of my favorites to play. I finish and look to Christina, asking what to play next, and ignoring the faces of my friends.
"Play Rose's favorite, and my favorite after that."
"Which of your favorites?"
"Both."
Rose is Christina's little sister, and she loved it when I played one from Tim Burton's Corpse Bride movie called Victor's Piano Solo. I play through that one with my eyes closed, it is burned into my memory, and I enjoy being able to let my mind wander as I play. Christina's favorites are Clocks and A Sky Full of Stars by Coldplay. I start with Clocks, again closing my eyes and focusing on the feeling of my fingers gliding over the polished white keys, and conclude with A Sky Full of Stars. Their faces start to annoy me, so I look down and pull the cover out and over the keys.
"Wow, Tris, I had no idea you were that talented." Marlene says, the sound of amazement in her voice.
"Yeah, she's amazing, but she doesn't like to admit or be told it." Christina says for me.
"What about those guitar skills you were talking about?" Uriah says, eyeing the acoustic guitar next to the piano. Four stands up, grabbing the guitar and a pick, as well as a little wooden stool. He moves the stool in front of the TV and pats the seat. I walk over to the tote and grab my lucky pick. He sees that I have one, and sets his down, looking confused. He's probably wondering why I carry this with me, everybody does. I take a seat on the stool and take the guitar from his hands.
"What should I play, Christina?"
"Do…Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran." I nod in response; this is one of her favorites too. The strings comply with my strumming and I press down on them, the closer to the body of the guitar, the higher the pitch; the further away from the body and down the neck, the lower the pitch. The song is over before I know it, and I miss the feeling of creating sweet music. Marlene asks what pop songs I know, and I name off a few of my favorites, not wanting to play the ones that became annoying after the twentieth time. She picks Rude by Magic! and I play it, starting to sing after the first thirty seconds. When the song is finished, I look up and their faces, yet again, are full of shock. They start clapping, and I busy myself, strumming a little.
"Ooh, you should play Everlong, by…whoever that band is." Christina says, and I chuckle.
"They're the Foo Fighters," I say with a smirk.
"Wait, you like the Foo Fighters?" Zeke asks, incredulous. Four mirrors his shock.
"Yeah, and Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Green Day, all of it." Before they can reply, I begin the song. I like it better when I can use an electric guitar and my effects board, but acoustic will have to do for now. Christina knows what I can do when I have my pedals and dials, but hopefully she doesn't say anything. The song goes by in what feels like the blink of an eye, and I wish I could do it again. When I latch on to a song, I can usually go outside and play it repeatedly, or at least until I get tired of it. Before anyone has the chance to say something, I start playing In Bloom by Nirvana. It's also not as good acoustic, but again, that's my only current option. I play a couple more songs per request, and eventually put the guitar back in its stand and my pick in the tote.
A few hours later, we've eaten pizza, played a game of truth or dare, and watched a movie. It's now eleven, and Shauna, Marlene, Lynn, Christina, and I are walking out to my car. The darkness outside envelopes us as we take our time getting to the convertible. Once everyone is in, we wave goodbye to the boys, and I pull out of the driveway. The whole way home we yell/sing to every song that comes on the radio station. It takes about twenty minutes to get to Shauna's neighborhood, which turns out to be a short walk from Christina and I's. We run through the motions of the typical girl sleepover, including The Notebook and several cartons of ice cream. Sleep only occurs at two in the morning, and lasts for the next ten hours.
I wake up and find everybody except Lynn talking quietly around me. Apparently she is the only one to out-sleep me, not that it's a shock. I used to spend most of my time sleeping after my parent's death. The nightmares about it were only occasional, so it beat thinking about them not being there 24/7.
"Look who's awake," Christina says, turning to me.
"What time is it?" I ask, my voice more of a croak from sleep.
"Noon. You fell asleep last so I guess it makes sense that you woke up last."
"What about Lynn? She's still sleeping," I say, gesturing to her lying on the floor.
"She got up at like six this morning to go to work. She's a photographer and has to work crazy hours for celebrities and stuff." Shauna replies.
"Oh," I say, standing up. I walk over to the tote, but quickly realize I didn't pack extra clothes. "Chris, we don't have clothes." I pull my phone from the charger and check the weather. "We can't wear the same stuff as yesterday; it's like sixty-five degrees outside. It won't get above seventy till two."
"So let's go home and get clothes. We can take Marlene, Lynn, and Shauna and after that we can hang out for the day, maybe do some shopping." She says, wiggling her eyebrows. I truly hate shopping, but I do need some new clothes since we aren't living in a chilly, windy city anymore.
After they've showered and are dressed, we head out to the car and go back to Christina and I's new house. As soon as we're there, I go straight to the bathroom and take a quick shower. By the time I'm done, the forecast has changed and it wasn't going to get above sixty-seven all day. I choose a pair of athletic black crop leggings with a grey cami and sheer blue pocket tee. Christina gets done soon after me, and we head out for breakfast, then the mall.
The day goes by slowly, for me anyway. The other three besides Lynn enjoy dolling me up. Lynn seems to feel the same way about shopping, but also seems to enjoy seeing me suffer through this. She was probably their doll before I got here. I end up with some expensive mascara, three pairs of crop jeans, two pairs of regular jeans, black combat boots, eight tank tops, four pairs of jeans shorts, three colored pairs of high rise shorts, three cardigans, a pair of black pumps, two pairs of sandals, two graphic tees, a V-neck tee, two sundresses, four swimsuits, four sports bras, three pairs of Nike pro compression shorts, and several new bras and pairs of underwear. This is the beginning of me becoming less of a tomboy and more of a girl. We split at the end of the day, dropping the three off at their houses before heading back home.
Two weeks go by of the same old thing: mall trips, sleepovers, and spending the day at the beach. Not that I'm complaining, it's great. We love the beach, and our friends are always there. I have tons of new clothes, and I'm pretty used to them dressing me and doing my hair every day, though they like it when I leave it down and natural. They say I have perfect beach waves when I see weird natural blonde hair, but everybody else seems to like it. Today I put it up in a high ponytail. It's the Sunday of the last week before school starts. I'm not nearly as nervous since we have our friends, but I don't want to go back. I've enjoyed my last couple weeks here. Summer in Chicago was boring; we shopped most of the time to have something to do. Here, summer is great. There is always something to do, somewhere to go, etc.
Walking into Christina's room, I find her sitting on her bed staring at her phone. I sit down and look at the phone. She is texting Will; they seem to be growing closer. I bet they'll date. I haven't spoken with Four exclusively for quite a while now, and rarely find him staring at me anymore. I was a little depressed yesterday, thinking about how maybe he doesn't really like me anymore. I spent a long time thinking about what turned him off, and got even more depressed thinking about all the unattractive things I've done. Christina pulls me out of my reverie by squealing. She holds out her phone for me to see, and I find that she is now on a conversation with Shauna and the most recent message says: Hey, the gang is going to spend the next week in Zeke's uncle's cabin on a lake. You guys wanna join? Under that, Christina has replied yes and a bunch of smiley face emoji's. I laugh and shake my head. She immediately pulls three suitcases and a smaller bag from her closet and several pairs of shoes and shorts.
"Chris, we'll only be gone for a week."
"Don't you know me?" I sigh and nod before walking out. I go back to my room, get a bag, and start packing.
An hour later, I'm helping Christina stuff her bags into the trunk of my car. It is noon when I am putting on my sunglasses and Christina is starting the music. Shauna sent us the address, so I put it in the maps app on my phone and follow that. It takes an hour, and when we arrive, everyone is there. They are standing outside on the deck, waiting. We hop out and grab our things. Shauna leads us inside and to our room, telling us they're going to meet us to swim. I grab a plain aqua blue push-up halter bikini and start changing in the bathroom connected to our room. After a few minutes, Christina tells me I can come out, and we grab towels and head out. Marlene tells us that the boys have already gone out, and all five of us head out. We find them walking out into the water; they turn around when they hear us coming. They all share looks of shock at the sight of us, even though they've seen us in swimsuits several times before. Lynn and I automatically move behind the other three, who seem to flaunt themselves even more at the sight of the boys. We reach the water and the three form a circle and start talking about something. Lynn and I swim around a little, and I go underwater. I come back up and smooth my hair back before looking to my left. The guys stare with their eyes wide; I roll mine.
I swim over to Lynn and start whispering, "What the hell are they so infatuated with? They've seen us like this before." She shrugs and I turn to the guys.
"What the hell are you staring at? Is there a serial killer behind us?" Will dunks himself underwater, and Four starts to swim deeper. Zeke's eyes flick from me to Shauna. The other girls eventually come back out of the group and actually swim with us. We have a water balloon fight while swimming, which I struggle with since I'm the shortest and have to stand closer to the beach while they can go out further, which they take advantage of. I also struggle to tie the balloons a good portion of the time. After Zeke runs out of balloons, he starts chasing Shauna around and splashing her. When he finally catches her, he dunks her underwater, and she comes up laughing. The other four start heading for the beach, knowing this will lead to water up their noses. It takes me a good minute to realize that not everybody is chasing a girl to the beach; there is one guy left. Four comes up behind me and scoops me up. I start thrashing and yelling again, but he dunks me under and I come up laughing. He smiles down at me innocently, but starts tickling me with his free hand. For a second I am so stunned that he is holding me out of the water with only one arm that I don't realize what is happening, but my body soon catches up. I yell stop several times, but only the sixth time does it work. He throws me over his shoulder, holding my legs with one arm, and begins walking toward the shore. I begin to feel afraid, not knowing what he's planning next, so I start pounding on his back. I fall tired when it has no effect on him, and go limp, hoping the sudden full weight will cause him to drop me, but it doesn't. He starts walking up onto the little pier that extends to the middle of the pond, and stops at the end, shifting me to bridal style. Oh no, I know what he's going to do. Before I can fully comprehend what is going on around us, he jumps off with me still in his arms. The impact of the water is forceful, but luckily Four straightens his legs so I don't hit his knees. We fall so deep into the water that is takes quite a while to reach the surface. He pulls me up with him, and I attempt to kick my legs to help, but only end up dragging us down, so I stop. I gasp for air as we reach the surface, and hear Four do the same.
"Not going to kill me for that?" He asks, starting to swim toward the shore.
"You have no idea; I could be planning your murder in my head right now." He chuckles. We reach the shore and I look up to find Christina holding out her phone while everybody looks at it, and the girls go 'awe' except Lynn, who looks longingly. "What are you guys looking at?" I walk over and peek over Christina's shoulder, finding myself too short. She watches me strain to see and laughs, as does everybody else. Four comes up and lifts me from the waist so I can see, and we both immediately blush. It is a video from when Four is coming up behind me, all the way till we reach the shore. I hear a camera sound behind me and see that Lynn has taken a picture of Four holding me up. I immediately start reaching for the phone and thrashing, but Four just laughs and continues holding me above ground. I eventually give up, so he sets me down.
Inside, Christina is posting the video and picture of Four and I with the caption "One true pair" while Shauna and Marlene stand over her, still swooning. Uriah is over on the other side of the room ordering pizza, while Four, Zeke, Lynn, Will, and I walk over to the couch to watch TV. I race to the small table next to the couch and grab the remote before anyone else, but end up without a place to sit. Four pats his lap, and I oblige. I ignore the looks from Zeke and turn on the TV. The first thing to come on is the local news channel. I quickly switch to the guide and find HBO, where Pitch Perfect is on. I select it and lean back into Four, setting the remote on the night stand. I hum along with the entire riff-off and say my favorite lines when they come along, knowing pretty much every line to the movie.
"Yeah, so twig bitches like you don't do it behind my back. Well…sometimes I think I can do crystal meth, but then I think, mmm…better not." They laugh at me as I continue to say all the funny lines and sing all the songs, switching to the actress' individual voices. The pizza comes in the middle of one of my lines, and Zeke suddenly dares me to answer the door and sing in Fat Amy's voice the whole time. I go and take a deep breath before singing loudly and opening the door. The guy holding our pizza looks a bit confused and scared, but holds out the receipt and a pen. I take it and sign, exchanging the money for pizza and breadsticks. I wave to him before turning around and slamming the door behind me. Everyone now sits in the living room, cracking up.
The movie ends, and everybody but Uriah has finished eating. He continues to try and polish off the rest of the pizza while we watch him and laugh. I yawn and snuggle up into Four, who wraps an arm around me. The Little Mermaid comes on next, which is one of my favorite movies. I fight to stay awake for the movie, but the yawns come more and more often and my eyes become tired. He then starts playing with my hair, and it's over.
Four's POV
I pat my lap and Tris comes over and sits down. I made sure we took up the whole couch so she'd have no choice but to sit with me; I think I'm obsessed with this girl. She turns on the movie Pitch Perfect, and immediately starts saying every funny line. She even sings all the competition and riff-off songs in the individual character's voices. I know my favorite parts, but she mouths every single line when she isn't saying it out loud. Yet again, Tris has managed to amaze me.
Eventually, the pizza comes, and Zeke suddenly starts yelling.
"Tris, I dare you to sing like Fat Amy while answering the door and getting our pizza!" He laughs a little and she smiles, agreeing. She walks over to the door and I notice how light of a step she has, like she considers every little thing she does, or is trained to do so. I wonder about it, but her Fat Amy singing impression pulls me out of my thoughts. The pizza delivery guy looks so confused and scared; we're all cracking up before she even has the food. She continues singing until the door is slammed shut and he's long gone.
We finish eating and settle down to the next movie that's on, The Little Mermaid. Tris snuggles into me, and I wrap an arm around her, pulling her closer. As the movie goes on, she continues whispering her favorite lines and yawning. The yawning grows and I can tell she's becoming increasingly tired. I start playing with her golden blonde hair, cherishing the soft feel of it between my fingers. Finally, she gives into sleep, and closes her eyes. I continue to watch her and play with her hair all the while. The snap of the camera app sounds and I look up. Christina has taken another picture and is showing Shauna and Marlene who are again cooing over us. I roll my eyes before closing them and sinking further into the couch. I keep her hair in my hand and an arm around her as I fall into sleep. The last thing I hear before drifting into oblivion is the sound of Christina taking another picture and the girls going, "awe!"
Tris' POV
Something breaks me from my sleep by stirring under me. Four. Oh yeah, I fell asleep on him. I open my eyes and stretch out a little. He looks down at me and smiles.
"Good morning."
I smile back at him, "Morning." I stand up and stretch even more. He stands up behind me and does the same; I can't imagine how uncomfortable it must have been sleeping under me all night. I walk to the kitchen where I hear Zeke and Will talking.
"Look who's awake." Zeke says.
"Shauna, Marlene, Lynn, and Christina went to take showers and get dressed. Apparently cheer tryouts are today." My eyes go wide when Will says this; I do competitive and high school cheer and cannot miss this opportunity. I've been missing sports.
"Today?" I yell; the look of shock obvious on my face.
"Yes, today." Zeke confirms, chuckling. I hop off the bar stool and run to Christina and I's room, yelling curse words much to the amusement of the boys. She is luckily pulling on her sports bra when I run in.
"Jesus, you scared the shit out of me." She says, putting her hand on her chest and breathing heavily.
"I had to find out tryouts are today from Will and Zeke!" I nearly scream as I grab my cheer clothes and head into the bathroom, throwing the door shut. I can hear her laughing from outside the door as I turn on the shower water, hot. It's nearly scalding when I get in, so I turn it down a little, but leave it hot because hot relaxes the muscles and while I do stretch every day, I need a little more help. If I want to wow the coaches, I'm going to need to be at my best. I wash my hair and body before hopping out and putting on deodorant and mascara. I pull on a pair of dark grey Nike pro compression shorts with green and light grey polka dots and a green waistband with the word Nike in white. On top, I put on a lime green Nike pro sports bra. This is my basic outfit for competitive cheer practice. Reaching under the sink, I find a blow dryer, perfect.
Once my hair is dry and in a super high ponytail with a pompadour, I grab a light grey University of Chicago sweatshirt and put it in a bag with my cheer shoes, brush, and wrist brace. Picking up my black flip flops and purple Camelbak water bottle, I walk out of the room and toward the kitchen. Everybody sits at the breakfast bar and dining table, and their conversation ceases when I walk in. I look over as I put ice cubes in the water bottle step into my flip flops.
"What?" Suddenly Shauna gasps.
"Oh my gosh, you're Tris Prior! You're the center flyer for Chicago Xplosion Allstars!" I let my head fall when she says this; nobody was supposed to find out…
"Yeah, I was."
"That explains the abs, and your loud, energetic personality." Will says, looking me over.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Marlene asks, still in shock.
"You guys know Tris is super modest. She said not to tell anybody unless they figured it out when we were on our way down here." Christina says. I give her a glare while I fill my water bottle.
"Hey, Christina was on Xplosion too." I say, still attempting to take the attention away from me.
"Wait, if you're Tris Prior…that means you're like an amazing volleyball player, too, right?" Four says, squinting, as if he were digging in his memory banks. I look down yet again and focus on screwing the lid onto my water bottle.
"Maybe…" I mutter, under my breath.
"I'm Four Eaton; remember our three on three matches? Zeke and I are on a team with a guy named Ethan. You kept blocking all my spikes," he says, his voice noting that he's still amazed and remembering. I suddenly remember, he was the one Hannah, Lilly, and I played against in special three on three matches; they were really good, but we were better.
"Oh yeah, I was exhausted after that game because I had to jump so high since the net is higher in guy's games. You had height advantage in that one, plus I had just come back from a cheer competition the day before." He chuckles.
"Hey, you were the one that had that amazing jump serve. I could never get it, you served straight to the floor and that's difficult because you're already short." I laugh, remembering how it took me forever to get my jump serve down, let alone overhand.
"Yeah, that was me. You know how long it took me to get my jump serve down? That's the only way I can do it; straight to the floor."
"Tris, we have to go now. Are you driving us?" Christina asks, looking at her phone for the time.
"Yeah, but is Lynn coming? I didn't peg you as the peppy cheer type."
"I'm not; I just do photography for the school website. They asked me to come to tryouts." She says, holding up her camera. I nod in response and wave to the guys as I walk out behind all the other girls.
As I get into the front seat of my car, I hear Zeke calling from the window of the kitchen, "I expect videos of her doing flips or something and you have to show us your amazing skills when you get back, Tris!" I laugh and pull out of the driveway while the girls back talk about the cheer routines and what tryouts were like last year.
Tryouts are easy. The only tumbling I am required to do is front and back tucks and handsprings in addition to cartwheels. I have already been chosen for team captain, and will be staying late to help the coaches pick who to put on the team. I do a round-off back handspring back tuck landing in left splits while I wait for the coaches to finish answering questions. I get up and turn around to tell Christina that I'm captain and I'll be staying late to help and find her recording the whole thing. Flipping her off all the while, I walk over and start talking to her.
"Hey, I was picked for captain and the coaches want me to stay a little late and help them pick who makes the team, so you guys can just hang out a little longer and maybe do some stunting or tumbling to impress them a little more."
"Ok, and thanks for the nice hand gestures."
"You're welcome," I say, walking away and repeating the gesture. I walk back over to the coaches, who are sitting at the fold out table next to the wall. I sit down on my knees and put my arms up on the table. "So…how many are we going to have on the team?"
Kara, the head coach speaks up first, "We're accepting thirty from your junior class. And would you mind joining us for the junior varsity tryouts tomorrow? They're at three, so you'd have to be here until six and…actually varsity practice is tomorrow at six-thirty, so you can just hang out here and maybe we can watch your old routines to get some ideas?"
"Sure, I'd love that."
"Great, let's get started. Was there anybody that you specifically liked or noticed?"
"Ok, I'm not saying this because she's my best friend, but Christina. She has a great standing back tuck and makes a great base. You know how I was on Chicago Xplosion?" I say, and they respond with nods. "She was too, and can hold me on her shoulders; she did that in the 2013-2014 routine."
"I agree, she is really good, and that is very impressive. We'll add her. And can you tell me about Shauna? She was one that particularly impressed me." The assistant coach, Amy says.
"She has tons of school spirit from what I can tell, and has a pretty good front handspring." Kara nods and adds her to the list under Christina and I.
"What did you think of Nita?" Amy asks, her lip curling.
"I think not only would she bust our chances of getting to any invitationals, but our eardrums, too. That girl has the voice of a strangled cat and can't do a simple cartwheel. If you ask me, she's in it for the short, tight skirt. Oh, and same goes for Lauren. She might have a cartwheel and a front tuck, but there is no pep/school spirit or teamwork ability in that girl. I met her when I first got here a couple weeks ago and she was kind of…rude and hard to deal with." Kara and Amy nod and Kara crosses out their names. I smile to myself; I'll have to tell Four about this. I bet he'll laugh and be glad he doesn't have to see her flaunting herself in a cheerleading outfit.
We end with all my friends on the team, and they're going to be helping with JV tryouts tomorrow. I can already tell that this team can go a long way by the picks. We have fast learners that are determined and want to win which is a good combination. The coaches leave and Shauna, Marlene, Christina are busy talking, so I agree to do the routine from the last year in Xplosion for Lynn to record and put on the school website with the caption "The Stingrays now have Allstar Cheerleader Tris Prior!" I plug in my headphones and start Waiting Game by Banks, stuffing my phone in my sports bra. Aerials, tucks, handsprings, fulls, needles, herkies, back walkovers, toe touches, and Christina stepping in during the two man stunts, and Shauna and Marlene as bases for four man stunts, in which several basket tosses are included. By the second aerial, I've realized the song was on repeat, but I don't care. This song used to be an obsession, and helped me get a good toe touch. I finally finish, sweaty and in need of water.
"You totally have to do that for the guys! I knew you're good since you're an Allstar, but that…oh my god…" Lynn trails off. I smile, I tend to underestimate myself, but that felt good. I think back to the goodbye party Xplosion had for Christina and I, and how much I cried that day.
We get in the car, Lynn still amazed at me doing the routine. She continues to babble to Shauna and Marlene while Christina and I sit in the front, nonchalantly laughing and correcting her when she says things like "where you catch Tris and throw her up and she does that thing where she pulls a leg straight behind her head". Shauna calls the guys to see if they want us to pick something up for them for dinner, and they enthusiastically say yes to whatever we choose. We decide on sushi since I've never had it before and the others insist it's amazing and I'm missing out.
The guys meet us outside when we arrive at the cabin. We slow to a stop right in front of Zeke, who screams like a girl when I go forward for two seconds before parking. He immediately grabs the food from Shauna and runs toward the cabin as we all climb out of the car.
"Wait, Zeke; I believe Tris has something to show us." Four says with an evil grin. My shoulders slump at the thought of more work, but I love doing it, so I shrug my sweatshirt off again and grab my headphones and phone.
"I'll do it, but I have to have my music. The routine normally has music going with it so…I need it." They nod in understanding while I plug the headphones and put my phone back in my bra, which causes a few of them to look confused. I start with my head down, and Christina joining me. Shauna and Marlene will run in as bases when I motion for them.
Several aerials and flips later, I am doing a handstand on Christina's one hand before flipping over onto one foot while holding the other in a needle. The guys' mouths are gaping wide open, and continue when I do a single full, hopping off Christina's hand.
"Normally a guy cheerleader would've been doing that in Christina's place," I explain, nonchalantly taking my hair out of its pompadour and ponytail and brushing it out before putting it in a messy bun. "I'm going to go take a shower then I'll meet you guys to eat. Close your mouths, you'll catch flies," I say, walking inside with my cheer bag.
Four's POV
Tris and Christina just finished this amazing routine that they apparently did with their old competitive cheer team. Tris ends in a handstand on Christina's one arm, but takes me by surprise when she flips over into what Shauna whispers to me is a needle, where one of her legs is straight up behind her and she has her arms wrapped around the back and is looking like some kind of possessed demon, by the way she's bent. She does what Shauna, again, explains is a full and hops down from Christina's arm doing some spins before landing and explaining that a guy would've usually been in Christina's place. Nonchalantly, she walks over to her bag and takes out a brush, brushing out her hair as she speaks, but the only thing I hear is her telling us to close our mouths or we'll catch flies and walking off.
"She's a sassy one," Christina says, following her inside. Shauna takes the sushi from Zeke and walks inside.
"What the hell?" Will asks.
"Tris is like a little possessed demon or something, the way she gets all bent in a circle and flips and all that in mid-air." I say.
"And after doing it for the like second or third time today in addition to other stuff, walks off like it's nothing."
"And how Christina held her on one hand without dying." Will adds.
"She is light as a feather, though. Any of us could've done that." I say, remembering carrying her out of the water then jumping back in with her in my arms.
"You would know, lover boy." Zeke says, punching my shoulder playfully.
"Whatever," I say, my cheeks turning a little red. What is happening? This girl is making Four fall in love and blush. That's not a Four thing.
We sit at the table, waiting for the girls to finish showering. I keep replaying Tris doing somersaults in the air after Shauna, Marlene, and Christina threw her up in what is apparently known in the world of cheer as a basket toss. Christina says her form is always perfect like that, and I wonder how someone practices that enough, and how many times it would take to get it that perfect. Just as I am replaying it in my head, I hear her sweet voice and gentle footsteps coming into the room. I turn around toward the doorway and see her coming in, singing while she combs through her golden hair.
"I'm thinking it over, the way you make me feel all sexy but it's causing me shame. I wanna lean on your shoulder, I wish I was allowed but I don't want to cause any pain. And if I'm feeling like I'm evil we got nothing to gain. What if I never even see you cause we're both on a stage? Don't tell me listen to your song because it isn't the same. I don't wanna say that love…is a waiting game." She continues to sing as she puts her hair in a French braid. "Baby I'm thinking it over, what if the way we started made it something cursed from the start? What if it only gets colder? Would you still wrap me up and tell me you think this was smart? Cause lately I've been scared of even thinking about where we are. What if I never even see you cause we're both on a stage? Don't tell me listen to your song because it isn't the same. I don't wanna say that love…is a waiting game." She is finished braiding by the time she finishes singing, and instead of amazed this time, I'm in love. The sound of her voice is like an addiction, I need to hear it all the time. It's like when you become obsessed with a song and you listen to it over and over until you get sick of it. Except, this time, I feel like I'll never get sick of it. I'm falling, hard.
Tris' POV
I finish showering and take the blow dryer into the bedroom so Christina can shower. When my hair is dry, I switch from my towel to a pair of black Soffe shorts and a Chicago Xplosion t-shirt with a red sports bra. Grabbing my comb, I walk out of the room and into the kitchen, singing Waiting Game. Since I've listened to it more than twice today it's stuck in my head. Not that I'm complaining; I love the song and it suits my voice, according to Christina. I nonchalantly French braid my hair, since there's nothing else to do. I braid and sing until the song is over and my hair is done. I look up and see that all three guys are deep in thought, and Lynn is looking at the video on her computer, before putting it on the website. She sees me looking at her and stands up, taking her camera.
"Do you think I could get some videos of you just doing stunts and maybe a picture of you doing one of those needle things on somebody's hand?" I smile and nod. Even if I'm exhausted from doing it all day, I love it. Cheer and tumbling are my life, and my favorite thing to do. We walk outside together, the boys breaking out of their thoughts and following us. I take off my shirt and throw it to Will before doing left and right splits to stretch out. I start out with a front handspring and front tuck. I then do a front and side aerial followed by a back handspring and back tuck.
"So who wants to hold me up so I can do a needle for Lynn's picture?" Zeke and Four both come forward, but Zeke quickly falls back when he sees Four. "Ok, all you have to do is hold your hand down here, and I'll do a front handspring and half of the next, landing in a handstand and you lift me up above your head. From there, all you have to do is stay still." He nods and gets in the position I showed him. I take a few steps back and do I practice front handspring, landing in a handstand. Deciding I'm ready, I go stand in front of him and ask if he's ready; he nods. I do the handspring and successfully land, and he easily lifts me up. I take a deep breath and bring my legs down and arms up, landing both feet in his hand. I then pull a leg up into a needle, being careful not to kick him. I stay in the position for a minute, then bring the other leg down and hop off, doing a double full since there's more distance between his hand and the ground than Christina's.
"Can you do some more of those running cartwheel-flip-things?" Lynn asks, sounding intrigued. I agree, and walk over to an open space. I run, full speed and do a round-off, two back handsprings, and a back tuck. I land, panting from the exertion. "Maybe you could do that again and add some of those no-hands-cartwheel things?"
I laugh, "They're called aerials, and sure." I run again, doing a front aerial and then the same sequence as the last time, and adding a left split at the end. Lynn starts clapping, and the guys follow. Will tosses me my shirt, which I catch and put back on. We go back inside and Lynn reviews her pictures and videos on the couch while I turn on the TV. The guys all plop down next to us, except Will who is forced to sit on the floor when there is no room left on the couch. I turn on the TV and change it to Nickelodeon after seeing that HBO is playing a documentary on some filmmaker. Spongebob is on, so I leave it. We watch a full two episodes before any of the other girls come out, and Christina is the only one. She walks out in a black scoop-neck body con dress and black pumps with studs on the heel, and her hair done in big curls. She wiggles her finger, for Lynn and I to follow her. I shake my head and try to shove myself further into the couch.
"Tris, you're forgetting that I can hold you on one hand, you think I can't pull you from the couch and hold you down while we get you ready?" I squeal as she grabs me and carries me to our bedroom, me thrashing around all the while. At the last minute I reach out for Four, but he laughs and crosses his arms. I make a pouting face at him as I'm carried around the corner toward our rooms. I can hear their laughs as they become distant, and Lynn's footsteps leaving the couch to follow us.
"Why?" I say, still pouting.
"We're going to a club. You will let us make you look good or I'll have Four tickle you, got it?" I roll my eyes.
Half an hour later, I am wearing a tight white crop top with short sleeves, and a turquoise body con skirt with black flowered sandals. Christina has put mascara and eyeliner on me, and is currently working on a clear, sparkly lip gloss. Shauna is finishing putting my hair in big, loose curls. I have to admit, they made me look good. Christina finishes and backs away, taking a look at her masterpiece. She nods and smiles at her work, then checks out my hair from the back as Shauna unplugs the curler. I stand up and spin around, letting Christina take a good look.
"I think we should switch her to the white flats." She says, turning to Shauna, who nods. I'm glad when I switch my shoes; those things were starting to hurt between the big toe and second toe. Plus, the white flats have bows on them, which I love. Bows have always been an obsession, which was a bonus when I started cheer and tumbling. We walk out to the living room and sit down, waiting for the boys to look decent. Shauna stands outside their doors, judging them until their outfits are acceptable in her opinion.
It takes the guys fifteen minutes to find something decent to wear and get into the car. The girls go in my car, the guys in Four's. The whole way there the girls don't attempt to make conversation, being that the hood is down and the wind covers up any attempts. Everybody in the back, meaning Shauna, Marlene, and Christina, are on their phones. Lynn is in the passenger seat staring out the side of the car. They stay this way until we reach the club. I have to tap the shoulders of the girls in the back seat to get them to look up and get out of the car, while Lynn stands in the parking lot laughing. We walk to the door, and I move to the back of our line; I hate clubs. The one I've been to with Christina, people would not stop talking about how I was center flyer for Xplosion. Hopefully since we're in a different state and far away nobody will figure it out. I pause one last time at the door, take a deep breath, and walk in. Inside, the music blares. Latch by Sam Smith and Disclosure is on, and the people on the dance floor act like it's a fast song. Christina, Shauna, Marlene, and I quickly run over to the dance floor and start dancing. The guys laugh and go straight to find a table and order food and drinks.
Several songs later, I become tired and walk toward the table everyone else sits at. The girls got tired of dancing around five songs ago, but I kept going. I'm starting to regret it. I'm tired, and whatever alcoholic drink Christina gave me three of is starting to take its toll. Apparently it was strong; I'm starting to feel a bit woozy. I sit down and look around at everybody. Christina is clearly drunk, laughing loudly at Will, the sensible one who is still on his first beer. Zeke and Shauna are drunk, and having a conversation about who is the better singer. Lynn sits between me and Shauna, silently sipping some drink that looks really good at the moment. Four is on his second beer, looking around at everything that's happening. Well, this is depressing. The waitress comes by and asks if there is anything we need.
"Ooh, um," I try to remember what I was thinking about, and it suddenly comes to me after a few seconds, "oh! I want one of those." I say, pointing to Lynn's drink and smiling at the waitress. She nods and walks off. Four cocks his head and smiles at me. "Why are looking at me like that?"
"You're kind of cute when you're drunk." I smile, but then think about what he said.
"Wait…only kind of cute?" He laughs.
"Ok, fine, you're really cute when you're drunk. Happy now?"
"I'll be happy when the waitress brings me my drink." I say, sighing and leaning my head on my hand.
"Well, then be happy. Here she comes," he says, pointing behind me. I turn around and see her walking this way. Standing up, I run over and hug her before grabbing the drink from her tray and waving. I sit back down and start sipping the drink.
"Lynn, you," I say, pointing at her, "have good taste in drinks. Also I think you need to drive home. How many of these have you had?" I point to the drink and continue to talk really loudly. She holds up some fingers, but they're completely blurry in my vision. "I'm going to need you to speak because I can't really tell how many little piggies you're holding up."
Four talks for her, "That's two fingers. She's good to drive home."
"Yay!" I yell, throwing my hands up, causing Lynn and Four to laugh.
"You're right, she's totally hilarious drunk. I should take a video of you or something." For once, the thought of the attention being on me is appealing, but I have nothing to do right now.
"You should. Imma go dance," I say smacking the side of my butt, "come on Christina! Let's go!" I grab her hand and start pulling her toward the floor. She says bye to Will and follows.
Three songs in, a mashup comes on that we used to do a routine to in cheer. We both squeal and start into it; luckily everybody clears out of the way. I shimmy out of my skirt and throw it to Four at one point, to reveal a pair of blue Nike pro compression shorts with green and white polka dots. At the end, I flip onto Christina's hand and do a needle. Shauna and Marlene come in and spot me, as I am swaying back and forth due to my drunkenness. I jump down into their arms and walk over to Four, who hands me my skirt, which I pull back on. Huffing, I sit down in the booth and gulp down three-fourths of the remainder of my drink. Four chuckles at me, and I lay down in the seat.
"I'm tired," I complain.
"Yeah, I might be drunk," Christina slurs, "but I know that drunken Tris isn't very fun and I suggest getting her home now."
I sit up, "What? I'm fun!"
"Don't you remember that time you got wasted at Lilly's party?" I scrunch my nose, trying to remember it, and giggle when I succeed.
"I threw up on her boyfriend and took the rest of her ibuprofen's." I explain it to all our friends; they have a right to know how much fun I am drunk.
Four laughs and says, "I'll carry her out and she can ride with me. Lynn is driving her car; Zeke, you can ride with them. Shauna go with Zeke and Lynn, Will and Christina come with us." I reach out to Four and he picks me up, switching me around so it's a piggy-back ride.
I feel weird when we get back to the cabin. I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep so Four will carry me in, which he does.
"Tris, I know you're not asleep." I giggle. A few minutes later, I am being set down on Christina and I's bed. Four starts to leave, but I stop him.
"Wait, stay here!" He chuckles and turns around, sitting down on the end of the bed but facing me. I stand up and wobble a little, but manage to stay balanced. Four laughs, but I continue what I'm doing and shimmy out of my skirt, throwing it toward my suitcase on the floor in the corner. I start to take off my crop top, but Four stops me by grabbing my elbow.
"You may be drunk, but I think you wouldn't like for me to see all of you yet."
I giggle, "Yet? And I'm wearing a bra, silly." I tear off the shirt as I talk, revealing a white lacey bandeau, and grab a blue sports bra with a green band around the bottom that bears the words Nike Pro in blue. After putting the sports bra on, I pull the bandeau down from inside it and unbuckle it, throwing it next to my skirt. I flop on the bed, feeling the pain in my head from the sudden pressure. "Ow," I say, feeling a bit confused and putting my hand on my head.
"You need ibuprofen and sleep. Do you have any?"
"Of course I do, it's in the smallest pocket on the front." I say, pointing to the pocket on my suitcase. He kneels down next to it and I watch the muscles in his back flex as he searches. He finds it and grabs my water bottle next to the smaller bag I had my cheer stuff in. Bringing both over, he hands them to me and I gratefully swallow the pills. "So, Four…" I trail off as I yawn and realize I actually had nothing to say.
"What?"
"I don't know. I was kind of hoping something would come to me."
He laughs, "You're really something, you know that?"
"I know, I'm special, but only when I'm drunk." I say, pointing at him.
"No, Tris; you're special all the time. I don't know why you'd think any differently."
"Ok, you don't need to give me a speech about my special-ness. Believe me, I've had too many of those from my mother." Suddenly realizing what I said, the corners of my mouth turn down and my throat constricts. I take big gulps of air to relieve it, but nothing helps. A weight drops in my chest and I continue to breathe heavily, but nothing helps. I begin to feel less happy and carefree. I try not to let my voice shake as I speak, "I'm going to take a shower now and go to bed. Goodnight, Four." He looks down and back up, attempting to mask the hurt I barely notice. I hop up and hug him quickly before grabbing a towel and some pajamas and going into the bathroom. I watch as he walks out the door with his head down. Closing the door behind me, I sink down against it and put my head in my hands, letting a few tears slip out. I take a shaky breath as I turn on the shower water and pull off my clothes. The water is cold when I step in, but I let it take it's time warming up. I let it the sobs come at a steady rate, barely trying to cover up or quiet them. The memories of my parents go through my head like a montage with sad music. I consider turning on music, but G-Eazy seems too heartfelt, Taylor Swift too ungrateful, Ariana Grande too happy-go-lucky, Ed Sheeran too sad. At this point, nothing is right; everything is wrong.
Not long ago I was doing anything to have feeling. I was forcing myself to review photo albums my mother had put together while listening to sad music. It never made me feel anything. I did drugs, got drunk all the time. These things only made me feel less.
Hopping out of the shower, I wrap the towel around me and start combing through my hair. I dry myself off and put on a pair of sleep shorts with palm trees on them and a matching blue racerback tank top. When I leave the bathroom, Christina still isn't in here, so I lie down and open my phone. Scrolling through Instagram, I come across a picture Lauren posted of her and her slutty friend Nita in the clothes they wore to tryouts today. The caption reads "Super excited for a new season of cheer with my main girl ". I chuckle thinking about how upset she'll be tomorrow, and how she'll have to delete the photo, unless she enjoys looking stupid. I'm suddenly reminded of the fact that I was going to tell Four about how as captain, I decided not to let Lauren or Nita on the team. I get up from the bed quickly, and have to stand for a minute before proceeding to the hallway, due to the dizziness that hits me like a tidal wave. Yelling Four's name, I lean into the wall for support as I move down the hallway toward his room. Suddenly, I hear pounding footsteps coming up behind me and barely have time to turn around before Zeke swoops me up and continues running with me in his arms.
I laugh as he screeches and runs me around the whole house before going back to the hallway all the bedrooms are in and taking me down to the door of the room he and Four share. Four sits on the bed, his phone illuminating his face which shows that he is laughing quietly.
Zeke sets me down on the bed before yelling, "Tris has something to tell you!" I giggle and try to calm down, but every time I stop, I start again which in turn causes Four to laugh.
"Sorry," I laugh, "I just wanted to inform you that I was chosen as captain for cheer today and Lauren and that slutty Nita girl tried out, so I chose for them not to be on the team. Now you don't have to see their ugly asses around in miniskirts! You're welcome!"
"Thanks," Four chuckles and sets his phone down. "Goodnight, Tris."
"Goodnight, Four." I give him a smile and remove myself from the bed and then the room. I get to the door of Christina and I's bedroom and see that her and Will are cuddled up in the bed and decide that the couch will be my bed tonight. By now everyone else is in their rooms and asleep, so I shut off the lights and TV and lay down on the couch before succumbing to the darkness that is a blissful sleep.
I wake up surrounded by white bedding and pillows, and immediately assume that it is the bed Christina and I share.