"Tell me about your fights", I ask Tobias as we lay on the training mat together, like we used to do. It's been a week since I figured out Tobias is back in town. We've been seeing each other a lot, but only in the abandoned building. I haven't told Christina yet about me and Tobias, although she keeps insisting I should call him.
"My fights? As a trainee or professional?"
I turn my head to him. "Professional."
He turns his head to me as well. "They were awful."
I frown. "Awful? But I thought you loved fighting?"
He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Not the way the Dauntless fight. Their rules are cruel, crueler than they used to be anyway."
"Dauntless… as in the host of the fights?"
He nods. "Everything became different when they got new leadership a few years ago. This ex-fighter, Eric, you don't want to go anywhere near him. He'll scare the living daylight out of you by just the way he looks."
"That sounds messed up. Have you ever fought against this Eric?"
"Yeah, I have. I won, I knocked him out in the last round. He's hated me ever since. Not that I care, Eric hates everyone."
"And everyone hates Eric", I say. He laughs. "True."
Suddenly, I look at my watch. I completely lost track of time, which is pretty easy with Tobias Eaton near you. "Shit."
With a swift movement, I stand up from the mat and walk over to my jacket on the table. "I have to pick up Christina and Will, we're going to Shauna's for dinner since they're leaving for Hawaii tomorrow." I swing my jacket across my shoulders and let it hang loosely.
He stands up too. "Really? Zeke invited me too."
I take his arm and pull him into a kiss. "Great", I tell him as we part. "Perfect occasion to tell everyone. I hate sneaking around and keeping this from Chris."
"See you in a bit then", he says, winking. He slings his arm across my shoulders and walks me to the door onto the street. We go our separate ways, getting into our own cars. I have no idea how he got the car, he just arrived from New York.
So strange how we are able to go from not really knowing each other since we were separated for so many years to being more than friends in just a week. I guess when people have a true connection they cannot really be apart.
I drive to Christina's hotel near Millennium Park. I feel bad not really meeting her this week, she and Will are already leaving next Friday. Blame Tobias for that one. I will explain it to Christina tonight, I'm pretty sure she'll understand.
She and Will are already waiting for me in front of her hotel when I pull over. I give her an apologizing look as she gets in the passenger seat and Will in the back seat.
"You're late. You're never late. What's going on?" she asks.
"Nothing, I was just catching up with Criminal Minds and forgot the time." I hope she buys my excuse.
She shoots me a glare. "Hmm, so you thought Criminal Minds was more important than picking your best friend up?"
I laugh. "Yes, of course Chris. I had to know who murdered that little kid."
She sighs and shakes her head.
Minutes later I pull over at Zeke and Shauna's home. Chris, Will and I step out of the car and walk up to the front door. Christina knocks on the door and Shauna opens it. "Hey guys!" She hugs me first, then Chris and then gives Will a handshake. I step inside and my heart skips a beat. I see Tobias standing with the guys, laughing and chatting. I smile at the sight. Tobias notices me looking and locks eyes with me. He grins back.
We stare at each other longer than socially accepted. Christina follows my gaze and stands in front of me, grinning as an idiot. "I told you", she says. "He notices you." He likes me, Chris.
I try to hold back my smile but fail. I walk past her and bump her in the shoulder. I walk into the direction of the boys to greet them. I hug him and Uriah quickly and nod and shake hands at Tobias. Everyone else thinks it's only the second time I see him. Little do they know.
"That's Tris", Zeke says. "In case you forgot from last week."
Tobias smirks. "I didn't. Nice seeing you again, Tris."
I want to laugh, but I don't. I want to kiss him, but I won't. I just smile and say, "Nice seeing you too, Four."
I look around to see where Christina and Shauna went. I catch Christina looking at me with that knowing smile of hers from the kitchen. I walk over to her and greet Marlene and Lynn. Good to see the whole group together again. I help the girls setting the table and grab a glass of wine. When we finish I lean against the kitchen counter and listen to the conversations.
"Will and I are leaving for Washington D.C. again next week", Christina says. "It is good to be back again though. I missed this a lot." She rises her wine glass and points it at each of us. "Friends forever, right?"
We rise our glasses too. The oven beeps, which signals dinner is ready. Good, I was looking forward to some food since Tobias and I did a bit of workout today. His trainer says he needs to be in shape constantly. I mentally role my eyes at the thought of someone actually commanding me to work out every day, even if I were a professional kickboxer.
"Can somebody tell the guys dinner is ready?" Shauna asks, not looking up from her dish. I turn around to face the living room. "I don't think that's necessary, Shauna", Marlene says laughing. Uriah has already found his way to the table and the others follow suit.
I go and sit between Tobias and Christina. She keeps nudging me in the side. I just glare at her. Uriah stands up and rises his beer like Christina did earlier with her wine. "To us, the never ending friendship and a perfect future!"
I smile brightly and rise my glass up high. "Cheers!"
While taking a small sip, I look to my right, to Tobias. He's looking at me too. We watch each other for a moment. I see his lip twitch. He looks away again and smiles against his glass.
The table is full of laughter and conversations. Shauna cooked lovely, it is truly delicious. When no one is paying attention, Tobias leans in and whispers in my ear. "When are you planning on telling, I'm dying to kiss you." A smile creeps across my face. "I have no idea", I whisper back. He reaches for my hand that rests on my lap and holds it underneath the table. I love the feeling of his rough, big, strong hand in mine. I'm safe with him, I tell myself, he will protect me from anything.
I let go of it again when Christina taps my left arm. I lean over to her to hear her out. "We're going to play Truth or Dare in a bit", she tells me. I sigh. "Are you serious?"
Her face lights up. "Yeah!" Her expression changes. "Come on, Tris. Like we used to do! You loved Truth or Dare! It should be fun!"
I roll my eyes. "When we were 18, yeah."
"Ah Tris, you're never too old for a game!" Marlene says.
I chuckle. "Okay then."
After we have cleaned up the table we sit on the couches and seats in the living room. This time, Tobias sits across from me. As always, Uriah begins.
"I hope everyone knows the game?" We don't get the chance to nod or to shake our heads. He explains anyway. "I will ask someone truth or dare, and then that person has to answer truth, or dare. Duh. When truth, that person has to answer a question, when dare, you have to fulfill a task. When refusing to do something? Shot!"
I lean back on the couch, mostly watching the game, and Tobias. I notice his big muscles through the tight, black T-shirt he's wearing. He's so hot in black.
Uriah dared Shauna to give him a foot massage, now Shauna is doing that while asking Christina how many children she wants to have since she said truth.
Christina looks rather nervously at Will. "Um… Two?" Will smiles in approval and wraps his arms around her. They're so cute together. It seems they've been together for ages when in reality no longer than three months.
Christina snaps me out of my trance. "Tris. Truth or Dare?"
"Dare."
She grins evilly. "Kiss Four." I raise my eyebrows; how could she ask that? She doesn't even know he's single or taken. She doesn't seem to care. I don't like kissing while having an audience, but I walk over to Tobias anyway in two long strides and straddle his lap, something I love doing to him. I look into his pleading blue eyes and take his chin. I pull him into a soft, innocent kiss which develops into an almost make out session. He holds my waist and I let go of his chin and grab the back of his head. When I kiss with him, I seem to forget the world and when we finally pull back, I turn around on his lap to see everyone dumbfounded. I smirk in satisfaction.
"Why do you guys kiss like you've done it before?" Uriah asks curiously. "I thought you guys met a week ago?"
I bite my lip and look at Tobias, who is holding back a smile. "I'm not saying anything until it's my turn again", I say laughing. I continue the game as if nothing happened. "Will, truth or dare?"
Still shocked from what's happened, Will answers, "I'll take dare." Time for payback.
"Give Christina a hickey." Christina's eyes widen. "Tris!"
Will gives her an apologizing look. "Sorry babe, not worth a shot." After he finishes he kisses Christina. She narrows her eyes at me while kissing Will. The red spot in her neck is clearly visible. Payback is a bitch, huh Chris?
Will proceeds with the game and dares Zeke to close his eyes and pick something from the fridge and eat it up. Everyone goes to the kitchen with Zeke while I choose to stay. Luckily Tobias is as smart as I and stays too. Well, not that he even has the chance because I am sitting on his lap. I turn around once again to face him.
"Are you okay with telling the whole story?" I ask him quietly. He takes my cheek in his hand. "As long as they don't know my real name, I'm okay with that." And he kisses me slowly.
Too soon they return, laughing and Zeke coughing. God knows what he had to eat.
"Tris!" Zeke says loudly. "What do you want? Either way, you have to tell."
"Why can't you ask Four?"
"Because I want to hear it from you", he says. "Truth or Dare?"
"Truth then?"
"Tell us what this", he points at Tobias and I, "is and why we don't know."
I take a deep breath. "Ready?" They all nod in anticipation.
"Okay. So Four here, and I didn't meet last week. I even met him before anyone else here." Christina and Uriah share a look. They've been my friends since Tobias left, so they are my oldest friends after him. "I met him about 15, 16 years ago. 11 and 13 I think we were. We found out we actually had a lot in common, hobbies for example, one of them being fighting; kickboxing and such. A year later, Four found this abandoned building at the edge of town and started collecting things: knifes, mats, guns, bullets. We trained for years. We had nothing back then, no relationship, but what we had was stronger than friendship."
I take a pause to see if everyone is still with me. Christina looks kind of hurt; I can understand that. I never told her and I should have.
"When he applied for some training in New York and actually left, I was so hurt, I can't really describe it; I had no other friends than him. That's when you guys come in. Four told me to make friends while he was gone. I still went to the abandoned building to train, but it was never the same as it was with him. I thought of him a lot while training, I sometimes cried. After two years, I was sure he wasn't coming back for me. He never called or mailed me. I lost track of him and he disappeared completely out of my life, though never in my memories."
Behind me, Tobias wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close. It's the first time he's hearing this part as well. Everyone is still quiet, all seven of them. Their faces are mixed with hurt and sympathy.
"I never really expected him to come back. On Zeke's birthday, I didn't recognize him. I even had to ask Shauna who he was." Some laugh at this, including Tobias. "Him coming to that party brought up memories I thought were long lost. I started thinking about the time Four and I trained and were together almost every day. I went back to the abandoned building the day after. And he was there too. So that's how this happened."
No one says a thing for the next minute. Marlene is the first one to speak up. "So Four is actually your Forgotten Friend?"
I nod. It is so true, I never thought of it that way. I forgot him, I actually did. And I feel so terrible for that. Tobias doesn't seem to mind; he's still hugging me. Tobias Eaton is still hanging on. My Forgotten Friend.
Hey people!
I'm so sorry for not updating this long, but was that review really necessary, human who wrote that? It's not over, duh.
