Good Morning
Inspired by Boy
A song by Willow
hi i know i havent posted in awhile, but i really been workin hard on an original story, i promise i'll be back with a full-length fic, but for now, enjoy this one shot. this was just fun lil guy i wrote in a couple days because i love the song by Willow. 'boy' is beautiful and very inspiring. i sorry if you think it's cliche, i just like writing cute distracting things like this while i work on my good stuff. love u guys. glad to be back
-reese
Hey mom, I met a boy
He plays guitar
He likes Quentin Tarantino
And really sad songs
Tris was only sixteen years old when she fell in love for the very first—and what would be the only—time. At seventeen, she'd yet to find herself, so she hadn't quite expected to find someone else.
One day, she was sitting on her porch when a car pulled into the driveway of the house for sale across from hers. It was five in the morning, and the reason she usually got up so early was so she could sit outside in peace with hardly any technology bothering her. So when the car pulled up playing loud, sad music, one could imagine her frustration. She recognized the song as Frank Ocean's Self-Control, and she became a bit less frustrated. The song was on her morning playlist she listened to every day as she prepared for her day. They were just upbeat enough to put her in a good mood for the day, but also slow enough that it wasn't overwhelming since she was still tired. The car's door opened, and the music became louder. Next was the song Ain't No Sunshine by Bill Withers. The song was released in 1971, so determining who was in the car was tough considering Frank Ocean released Self-Control in 2016. This person inside of the car could be a man or woman anywhere from the ages of 16 to 60.
Tris quickly regained focus and sipped her coffee as she read the paper. The person waited a good ten minutes before getting out of her their car. When they did, Tris was surprised to see a boy near her age. He was wearing a pair of jeans with holes in them along with a Pulp Fiction tee on. His jeans were those that you could tell were natural rips, maybe from skateboarding or baseball. More than likely the former rather than the latter.
He had dark brown hair, damn near black, and a shy yet excited smile. He ducked and reached through the door to the backseat of his car for something. When he came out, there was a guitar case in his hand. He ruffled through his pockets for his keys, and when he found them, he unlocked the door to the empty house. He set his guitar inside and left the door wide open, turning around and walking around in the front yard. He was about to grab the sign, but another car pulled in. A woman stepped out and joined him at the sign. She had curly black hair and the two of them shared a nose, so Tris made the assumption that it was his mom. They hugged, then shared a moment as they took the "For Sale" sign out of the ground. It made Tris smile, happy that they were happy. She considered going over and welcoming them to the neighborhood, but soon realized what she was wearing: her tight sleeping tank top, no bra, and sweatpants. She decided to visit them later.
Tris realized the time and stood up. They seemed to notice her for the first time, and suddenly she felt very inferior with her messy bun and too-big glasses. She held the paper and coffee in one hand and raised the other wave. "Welcome to the neighborhood!"
"Thank you!" said the mother.
Tris turned and went inside, nervous. She knew shouldn't have been, but she just couldn't help it since that guitar-playing, good-music-taste-havin', Quentin-Tarantino-movie-lovin' boy was looking at her.
Anxiety attacks when he wakes up in the morning
And I can't help the thought he thinks I'm boring
Once again, Tris sat on her porch the next day, favorite mug in hand and that morning's paper in the other. Just as she settled into the Politics column, she heard a heavy breathing. She turned around, scared, but then realized that it was coming from across the street upstairs. The boy looked red, nervous, wide-eyed, and confused. Tris knew that look better than anyone; she'd stared at herself like that in the mirror dozens of times. He just had an anxiety attack or was still having one.
Since his mom wasn't home, he didn't have anyone to help calm him down. Tris decided to go over there. Before she got up though, he turned away from the window.
She looked both ways and quickly crossed the road. She knocked on the white door with grace. Tris realized she hadn't set the coffee down, so she shrugged and sipped it at his doorstep. Around two minutes later, he answered the door.
"Hi," he greeted, "this isn't really the best of times."
"Um. Yeah. I'm sorry. I just… I noticed you in your window. I… I don't mean to be nosey, I just—Well, I get anxiety attacks a lot too, so I know how it feels. I know what it's like to not have anyone there to help calm you down. So I figured I'd come over here and… I don't know. Do you want to talk? I have a great coffee machine—"
He interrupted her with: "I have to get ready for school."
"Oh," she answered, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Um, okay. Have a good day."
Tris hurriedly scrambled to get off of his porch and back to her house. She kept her head down and definitely did not have the courage to look back. She grabbed her paper off of the chair, still walking, and quickly went to hide in shame.
As soon as she shut the door, she grunted in disbelief at herself. What was she thinking? Why would he want to talk about his problems with a girl he hadn't even known the name of? Tris hoped he wouldn't see her at school that day. Or ever, for that matter.
She went upstairs and put on the most boring clothes she owned for the first day of school: A loose, gray, Obey-branded shirt, black ripped jeans, and gray Vans. She let her hair down around her face so she could hide behind it in the halls, along with her big glasses. She grabbed her black bookbag and headed into the garage. Quickly backing out, Tris made sure the boy across the street didn't see her.
When she arrived at school, gaining the courage to go inside was hard until she saw her friends.
"Tris!" Christina shouted. "You look freakin' hot!"
Tris rolled her eyes and hugged her friend, who she literally saw less than 48 hours ago. "I was going for unnoticeable, but thanks, Chris," she answered with a laugh.
"Unnoticeable?" she asked as they walked to their first period together. "Why?"
"I tried to talk to the new cute neighbor. In summary, I made a fool out of myself."
"Aw," Christina said with a laugh. "Hey, at least you tried! You've never approached a guy before. This was a good baby step."
Tris rolled her eyes as she walked into Mrs. Dunmore's class, probably around five seconds before the bell rang, like she and Christina usually did. "Ugh, the hell it was! I'm embarrassed beyond belief," she said quietly to Chris.
They walked to the back of the class, still talking to each other, unaware of what else was going on or who was there.
"Tris, you do realize that I rejected Will like three times, right?" she pointed out, sitting down.
"Yes, but—"
"Alright, class, welcome to Advanced Placement English 11. I'm going to start taking attendance. Shouldn't take too long considering there are only about twelve of you in here. Let me know if you prefer a nickname rather than your real name. Lee Adams."
"Here."
"Penelope Briggs."
"Penny. Here."
"Regina Dean."
"Gigi. Here."
"Tobias Eaton."
"Four. Here."
Tris's head snapped up at his voice. Her eyes grew, and Chris looked over at her. "That's him," Tris mouthed to her.
"What?" she whispered.
She held up four fingers. "Cute neighbor!" Tris whispered back.
Christina's mouth dropped. "He is cute!" she mouthed.
"I know!" Tris said with excitement.
"Prior? Is Beatrice Prior absent?" Mrs. Dunmore announced.
"I'm here, sorry!" she answered, embarrassed for the second time that day.
"You'll learn that not listening in this class is a mistake, Beatrice," she said sharply.
"Actually," she corrected, "it's just Tris."
Mrs. Dunmore gave Tris a sour look and continued taking attendance, causing Tris and Chris to giggle.
'Cause I come from a cluster of super bright stars
And probably to him it feels scary to reach that far
But down on Earth there's so much pain
But way up here we explore galaxies
Through Mrs. Dumore's class, Tris couldn't stop thinking about the idea of Four. Not the romantic part, but the part about him probably being interested in other girls. There were girls at her high school who were blonder, taller, and far prettier, so it made sense that he didn't want to have coffee with the first girl he met. She wasn't insecure; she knew she was her own kind of beautiful, but all of the girls were gorgeous at her school, like Christina. They were all bright stars, supernovas, while Tris felt she wasn't even in the same galaxy. Nonetheless, a beautiful galaxy, far, far away. They were in the Milky Way and she was in Andromeda. If she were him, she wouldn't want to reach that far for her either.
After class, Tris and Chris stood together to walk out. Four stood too, and Tris expected him to walk out without turning back. He didn't, though. He scooted past the other people in the row toward Tris in the back. She acted like she didn't pay attention since she was still talking to Christina.
"Hey, um, Tris, right?" she heard Four say behind her.
She turned, hair flinging with a small smile on her face. "Yeah. Four?"
"Like the number?" Christina butted in with a huff.
He turned his head toward her in annoyance. "Exactly like the number," he deadpanned. His voice got scarily low and intimidating, to say the least.
Tris smirked, even more attracted to him than she already was. "Four, why don't we talk in the hall? I'm headed to Advanced Painting III but I'm sure you'll need some help working around the halls to your next class, right? Gotta go, Chris."
They walked out into the hall together, and Four laughed. "Sorry, I tend to get a little defensive over my name. Good save, though."
Tris laughed. "Thanks. So, where are you headed?"
"Environmental Science. Mrs. Jay's."
"Ugh. All the way across the school. Lots of time for conversation. So, that serves as my intro to the apology I owe you. I should've never gotten in your business like that. It was—"
"No. I actually wanted to talk to you so I could apologize. I… Um, I didn't exactly want to talk with you because I didn't want you to see me like that. In the middle of it. It would've been a worse impression than the one I originally gave. I mean… You were so kind to me this morning and I was extremely rude. I just don't know if I would like to share that much quite yet. Uh, I would love to have coffee with you on your porch tomorrow morning. If you'll still have me."
She smiled. "Um, yeah. Sure. I'm usually out by 5:30, so whenever you want to come is fine."
He grinned and turned to walk away, but Tris blurted, "Do you like cream and sugar in your coffee?"
Four laughed. "Yes. Both. French Vanilla if you've got it?"
She smiled. "Of course. I'll see you in the morning."
Hey mom, I met a boy
He's super sad
The next morning, Tris woke with a smile on her face. Her baggy tee and shorts were all she wore when she went downstairs to get the coffee ready. Minutes later, she carried not one, but two cups outside for the first time since her father passed, then set them down on the small table between her two rocking chairs. She smiled at the thought of sharing these mornings with someone once again.
The newspaper boy, Matty, was en route to her house as she threw a wave at him.
"Mornin', Tris!" he shouted through the window, along with the paper.
She picked up the paper and sat down in the rocking chair. Across the street, Four closed his door and began walking toward her. He wore a zip-up sweatshirt only halfway zipped up with nothing under and baggy sweatpants. When he looked up and made eye contact, a shy smile grew on his face. He reached her porch with a growing smile.
"Good morning, Tris," he greeted.
Tris reached for his cup of coffee and handed it to him. "French Vanilla and sugar. If you want more of either it's right inside," she told him with a smile.
He sipped the coffee gracefully. "Perfect, thank you." He continued to sit down in the rocking chair to her left.
"So," he began, "are you from Chicago?"
Tris nodded. "Yeah. Born and raised here in the same house. Yourself?"
"I was born in a small town in Ohio. My dad was the mayor, and then some shit went down. Now my mom Evelyn and I live here. We're very excited to restart our lives here."
She smiled at the bit of excitement in his voice. "So do you consider yourself a city person, or did you enjoy your small town more?"
"City boy, definitely. I can't stand the routines and doing the same thing every day. How about you, though? I feel like I don't know much about you, besides that fact that you like mornings, coffee, and the newspaper."
She shrugged. "That's pretty much all there is to it."
He smiled. "I feel like, maybe, just maybe, there's more to you than those three things."
"Well," she began flirtatiously, "what do you want to know?"
He sipped his coffee with a sly smile. "What do you feel I should know?"
Her grin only grew. "I think you should know that I've had about six different families move in and out of your new house in the past two years, three of which had sons my age and two had daughters my age. You are the only one that I have allowed to sit in that rocking chair. Even my brother and mom aren't allowed."
His eyes were looking into hers happily. "I appreciate that. Is your father not really around?"
"Um," she tried to answer as she scratched her head, "he passed about two years ago now. Cancer. We would wake up every weekday morning, talk, and have coffee out here."
Four did not give Tris those pitiful eyes, but rather the empathetic kind. He looked at her like she was one of the strongest people he knew. "I'm very sorry, Tris. That takes a lot of strength."
She smiled. "Thank you. Onto less depressing matters," Tris interrupted with an awkward laugh, "how was your first day of school?"
"It was great, honestly. I met Zeke, who actually mentioned being friends with you," he answered. "He told about how you and I might have a lot in common. For example, you like to skateboard, I hear. I also heard you play cello, which, at first thought, I was like, 'Hm, such a large instrument for such a lil guy,'" Four told her with a laugh. Then, ever so matter-of-factly, he said, "I skateboard and play guitar. We have those things in common, which I think is pretty neat."
Tris thought of something else they had in common. "The first morning you rolled up, I heard you playing both Bill Withers and Frank Ocean. Quite the different genres, huh?"
He shrugged. "I wouldn't say so. They're both very calming artists that make you sad. And, honestly, sometimes I like being sad. So, say happiness could be on a scale of 1-10. You shouldn't always be a ten. You should be from, like, a 4-6, all the time. If you're always a ten, you'll never experience extreme forms of joy."
Tris stared admirably. "I've never thought of it like that before. I like the way you think, Eaton. Eaton, right?"
"Not a huge fan of the name. I prefer Tobias with close friends, if I'm being honest."
Tris crossed her leg over the other and faced her hips toward him. "So I'm a close friend, huh?"
He smirked as much as she. "Soon, I'm hoping."
"To new friendships," Tris said, raising her mug up.
"To new friendships."
But I think that I love him
Is that bad?
"Pst," Tris whispered. "Chris. Pass this to Four."
Christina rolled her eyes, but Tris could tell she was happy for her best friend. "Already passing love notes? It's, what, the seventh day you've known him?"
Tris gave a loving glare and turned back to her English teacher. About a minute later, Christina passed the note back to her.
There's a new skate park opening in Jackson Park. Only a 20 minute L-train ride.
Peer pressuring the new kid to skip only after the first week? You're bad.
She smirked at him and his messy, scrawled out handwriting.
We can meet at my car so we can drive home and grab our boards along with some snacks.
The next time Tobias responded, he wrote, Only snack we need is you.
Tris blushed and looked over him, rolling her eyes and faking a scoff. He only gave a smooth wink back and then he turned away again.
By the time the period was over, Tris's foot was tapping rapidly. Tris assessed the punishments for skipping school: The office would call her mom's office, and the receptionist would answer. The receptionist will try to patch her through to her mother, but will only get to her brother, Caleb, who will easily cover for her. Tris couldn't wait to spend her day with the cute neighbor, skateboarding and having a good time.
When the time came, they slyly slid out the back and to the parking lot, giggling the whole time like the children they were. Tris hadn't snuck out since the beginning of last year, and she forgot how much she loved it. They hopped into her car together since they started carpooling, which Tris was rather happy about.
They went home and retrieved their boards. Tris gathered a backpack full of snacks, juice, and water along for the ride. She ran upstairs and changed into a specific pair of ripped jeans that she wore when she would skate. She put on a tight black tank top and tied a flannel around her waist.
She heard a knock on her door, presuming it was Tobias. She opened it, and he grinned, looking at her room.
"A neat freak? I didn't take you for one of those, Trissy."
Tris began laughing and lied a hand on his chest, pushing him back into the hall as he peered over her shoulder to see more into her room.
"Is that a One Direction poster?" he gasped. "And Justin Bieber?"
"Hush," she laughed as she shut her door. "The only posters I have up are Rex Orange County and Frank Ocean."
He shook his in amazement. "You're perfect."
"Yeah," Tris said sarcastically, keeping her hand on his chest. "Okay."
He grinned at her as she remained close to his chest, hand still lying there. "Ready to go for a ride, Beatrice?" he asked softly.
She listed her head to the side with a small smirk. "Are you ready to go for a ride, Tobias?"
Tobias gave her a look, grabbed her hand from his chest, then started running like a kid on the way to recess. Through the hall, down the stairs, beyond the kitchen, and out the front door they went. Laughing, they grabbed their boards from the driveway and dropped them on the road, skating to the nearest train station at Belmont.
"Just want to take the red line down to Roosevelt, transfer to the green there and get off at 63rd?" Tris asked him as they rode.
His eyes were wide as he wore a confused look. "I'm from Ohio…"
She laughed. "Right. Sorry, I forgot that you're not from here."
He didn't respond, so Tris took the liberty of leading him around the station to the correct line when they arrived. She also got him a Ventra card, which gave him access to the trains and buses of Chicago. As they waited for the next train to arrive, Tris showed him the nearest map.
"So this is the station closest to our houses. Belmont. The red." Tris traces her finger all the way down to Roosevelt Station. "See how the red and the green have the connecting dots at Roosevelt? Well, that means you can transfer without having to pay. So we're going to get on the green since that takes us to 63rd, which is where Jackson Park is."
He smiles. "Thanks. You have to go with me everywhere though for at least a solid month until I can figure all this out," he laughed.
The train rolled in, and Tris became excited for Tobias; this would be his first L ride. She grew concerned when she saw each and every car of the train packed. Many people got off, but many got on with them.
Tris waved a hesitant Tobias toward her and the train. They ended up smushed together, her back to his chest. She didn't have anything to hold onto for balance when the train started up and stopped, so Tobias wrapped an arm around her chest gently. She wrapped her hand around his arm as he laid his chin atop her head. Tris only allowed herself to slightly grin.
Soon—too soon—they arrived at Roosevelt. Tris led him around the station and found the green line, which was far less packed. There was one seat available, and Tobias encouraged Tris to sit. She did, flattered at his politeness. Towering over her, Tobias stood, holding onto the ceiling pole for balance. Part of his shirt rose, revealing a sliver of his tan skin. When Tris looked back up at his face, he was looking to his left. She began to take note in his features for the first time: His strong jaw, slightly-but-not-quite hooked nose, crazy blue eyes full, but not too big lips that Tris could only hope would eventually be on hers someday. They all combined to create a face that Tris adored.
Finally, Tobias noticed and looked at her. She kept staring, even when they made eye contact. After moment, Tobias asked, "What is it? Do I have chocolate on my face? I know you said you were bringing snacks but I got hungry waiting—"
She laughed and cut him off with confidence. "Tobias, no, you don't have chocolate on your face. Just… You know you're a pretty attractive guy, right?"
He gave a shy smile. "Um, I've gathered. I don't know if you've noticed, but, uh, that group of girls… the one's name is Lauren and she has like two sidekicks... they won't leave me alone. They aren't huge fans of you either, considering the amount of time we spend together."
Tris actually let out a laugh and a roll of the eyes. "She's hated me ever since freshmen year. Lauren decided to go the popular route, and I didn't. She actually taught me how to skate in 8th grade. Lauren only has herself to blame for us being together."
He smirked at the together part she mentioned.
"Right now," she elaborated. "Not that we're together, obviously. Or would ever be. We're in the same area. In this moment."
Tobias smiled. "I know, Tris. You're awfully silly."
Tris stood, remaining close. Very, very close. "But it's not too silly of an idea, right?" she whispered with a smirk.
He was hardly breathing, Tris could tell, and she practically heard his heart racing. However, he was calm when he spoke. "I happen to like very much when you say silly things."
The doors opened to 63rd Street. "C'mon," Tris said, grinning.
As soon as they hit the road, they dropped their boards and zoomed off. Tobias was in the front, following the signs to Jackson Park. He turned around, hair whipping through the wind, and a loose, genuinely happy grin on his face. He winked and turned back around, causing Tris's heart to flutter.
Tris knew she couldn't possibly love him in seven days.
She was getting there though.
Anxiety attacks when I wake up in the morning
Dude, how come? This is whack
The first thing Tris experienced on the eighth day she knew Tobias was an anxiety attack. Since the previous night, she knew waking up would be difficult. Getting out of bed would be difficult as well. It was a Saturday at 7 AM, so not many people were up and about quite yet. She got up and went to her open window. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. Between the labored breathing, racing heart, and nausea, to name a few, Tris found it hard to come back down from this one. Without opening her eyes, her shirt came off due to heat exhaustion. She leaned heavily on her windowsill and nearly fell over and out. Tris did what she was trained to do: think of her happy place, control her breathing, and be aware of the root of the problem.
London. Hyde Park. Listening to The Beatles. Walking to their old recording studio on Abbey Road, she thought to herself.
In… Out… 1, 2, 3, 4…
My father died two years ago today, and I miss him more each and every day.
"Tris!" she heard someone shout from below. It was hard for her to open her eyes, but once she did, she was met with the neighbor's blue ones. "Please meet me at your door."
"Now isn't really the best of times," she breathed painfully.
She saw him disappear onto her porch, and she felt she had no choice but to go down. When she opened the door, he was holding two cups of coffee and a newspaper under his arm.
He smiled soulfully. "I'm sorry. I just… I noticed you in your window. I don't mean to be nosey. I get anxiety attacks a lot too, so I know how it feels. I know what it's like to not have anyone there to help calm you down. So I figured I'd come over here and… I don't know. Do you want to talk? I have a great coffee machine…"
Despite the previous five minutes of her morning, she seemed to crack a genuine smile. He was only quoting exactly what she'd said the morning he'd had his panic attack, introducing herself.
He continued. "Fortunately, at my house we have peppermint creamer, which I know happens to be your favorite. I also happened to know you were out."
Is love just torment?
But they say life has a silver lining
And I say I will find it my way
Tris felt a physical pain in her chest. She thought it was a heart palpitation from her attack; it took her a moment to realize that it was simply from the boy standing in front of her holding her a cup of coffee with her favorite creamer in it.
"Tris, are you okay?" he asked, concerned. She hadn't spoken at all, but she continuously kept a shy smile on her face.
She took both cups of coffee out of his hand and set them down on the nearest table on her porch, then she took the news paper as well. Tris remained silent through Tobias's confusion. She stopped in front of him after returning from setting down their items, and then she hugged him. She laid her cheek on his chest comfortably, wrapping her arms around his waist too. He wrapped his around her frame as well.
"I appreciate you," she said softly. Tris wanted nothing more than kiss him right then and there, but she knew the timing wasn't right, and neither was the day.
So there they stood, Tris feeling as content as ever.
'Cause down on Earth there's so much pain
And way up here there's galaxies
That next day, Sunday, Tobias and Tris headed to Lincoln Park to skate, which was the park nearest their homes. They'd been there for hours Sunday, so they took a break at a near picnic table. Tris had packed cute PB&Js along with juice boxes and a couple brownies.
"There's no way," Tobias said, laughing relentlessly.
"Yes! I swear. Ever since that day Christina has refused to even look at baby powder."
He grinned still. "You guys are pretty wild, huh?"
"I'd say. Are you ready to get back out?"
Tobias nodded. "Always."
Tris and Tobias did a couple kickflips, ollies, and grinds. They do a couple harder tricks, but Tris was mostly focusing on perfecting her alpha flip. She had it damn near perfect, but still couldn't manage to do it correctly. She stumbled multiple times within the past minute.
Tris gave it one last go, kicking the board up in the air with all her might, spun it, thinking for a moment she had it, but something got stuck. She crashed down, preparing herself for the pain. She landed on her side, scratching her knee, hip, elbow shoulder, and part of her face. "Shit!" she yelled. "God, motherfu—"
"Tris!" Tobias yelled, running over from a ramp. "What happened? Are you okay?"
She grunted and sat up. "Yeah, just a couple scrapes. None are bleeding."
"Your face is pretty bad, Tris…"
"Excuse me?" she growled.
He laughed. "Oh, hush, you know what I mean. It's bleeding pretty badly. I better go get those bandages from your bag."
She stood. "I'm a big girl. I can walk over."
Tobias gave a disapproving look.
He dug through her bag for the small first aid kit consisting of bandages and healing gel.
Tris propped herself up on the end of the picnic table, away from the benches. He set the bandages next to Tris and then stood in front of her, leaning forward. He stood between her legs, inspecting the gash on her right brow. She slightly looked up into his eyes, and he smiled, able to tell she was looking at him. He put on the bandages carefully and in no time he was finished.
He rested his hands on her knees with a smirk. "Anything else I can do?"
"Hm…" she pondered. "Actually there is something."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"Kiss it and make it feel better," Tris suggested coyly.
He leaned down just slightly and kissed her forehead. "All better?"
"I think I'm still feeling a little woozy…"
Tobias smiled, then kissed her cheek. "How about now?"
"Not quite."
He only leaned on her knees, likely hesitant to do what she was asking. Suddenly, she became embarrassed. Her face reddened, so she said, "I'll walk it off though." She moved to get away, but Tobias wouldn't let her.
He leaned in eagerly, then, before she knew it, his lips were on hers. She put her hands on either side of his jaw happily.
Kissing him was like taking a breath of fresh air in the morning, and she never wanted to breathe out.