"What can I get ya?" A barista says, pressing a button on her cash register.
After the incident with Marcus, Starbucks sounded like a good idea.
"Grande Vanilla Latte." I say.
She looks up to meet my eyes. "Your name?"
"Tris," I say. "T-R-I-S." I decide to spell it for her before she asks. I've gotten Trix, Trice, Trish. I suppose that the baggage that comes with having a weird nickname.
"And you?" Her eyes shift to Tobias's.
"Just a black coffee."
She picks up a cup and a sharpie. "Just a black coffee?" He nods.
"Are you sure you don't want to try our new flat white?" She asks.
His eyebrows furrow. "Positive."
She sighs and clicks her sharpie. "Name?"
"Four." He says, sternly.
Her eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. "Ford?"
"FOUR!" He says, a little too loudly.
"Oh. Okay." She writes a small "4" on the paper Starbucks cup.
I grab Tobias's hand and lead him toward the tables.
"My god." Tobias says, taking a seat in the expresso colored chair.
I take a seat when he does, and a smirk forms on my face.
"Um. Trish?" A voice calls from the counter. My back is facing wherever the voice came from, so I roll my eyes. Tobias lets out a small chuckle.
I stand up, walk toward the counter and grab my steaming hot drink, nodding in the direction of the barista who attempted to call my name. "Thanks."
He nods. "No problem." He continues to make another drink. I decide to wait by the counter, as it is most likely Tobias's.
He puts the lid on the cup and a crease forms between his eyebrows when he sees the small number scrawled on the cup in sharpie. "Ummm... Four?"
This barista isn't sure about anything. He slides the drink across the counter and I grab it with my free hand.
I walk back towards our table. Tobias smiles at me. I hand him his drink.
"Thank you." He says.
"No," I return his smile. "Thank you." He paid, the least I could do was hand him his drink.
I slide down into the seat, and take a sip of my latte. There are few things better than a Starbucks latte in a cold Chicago February. The Starbucks cafe is warm, and smells heavily of coffee beans. The general atmosphere helps me relax a little. Coffee house music plays softly behind the hushed chatter.
"Good?" He asks.
I nod. "Mmmhmmm."
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I take it out and read the text. It's from Tori. It reads: "Lynn just quit"
I send one back saying, "why?"
"Who knows. Know anyone to take her place?"
I get an idea and say, "Let me get back to you on that." I click my phone off, and look up with Tobias.
"Oh no," he says. "What?"
"Would you like a job at Hot Topic?"
He takes a sip of his coffee, pondering the idea.
"Your shift would be with mine." I say, hoping this will persuade him further.
"Well," he says after he swallows a sip of coffee. "That would be fun. And it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra cash."
I smile. "It never does. Thank you, Tobias!"
I pull out my phone and text Tori again. "I've got someone!"
She replies instantly. "Great. Bring them in tomorrow."
I smile at my phone. "You got it!"
I shut it off once again and look back up at him. "Okay. So, about that visit with Marcus," I start.
His eyes harden. "The government is definitely hiding things, Tris." He takes another sip of his coffee.
I nod. "What should we do about it?"
"We should..." He sighs. "Stay put for now. You and I have jobs and school to manage. Maybe we should finish out the year before we get too wrapped up in whatever is going on. But," he pauses. "Is it really even our business, anyway?"
"Our business?! Whatever the government is hiding, they used it on us! It most certainly is our business!"
He sighs softy. "I don't know, Tris. Maybe they know what they're doing. Just because Marcus was horrible to me, doesn't mean he'd be that way to the people of Chicago."
I don't know why this hits me the wrong way. "How could you say that?!" Several people turn to look at me, and I take that as a sign to lower my voice. "You, of all people, must know that that
man is nothing but evil! I don't care what the government has in store, if it involves taking people's memories, it can't be good! Taking something as personal as someone's memories is cruel, Tobias. I don't care what their intentions are." I hiss.
Tobias looks down at the table.
"And didn't he work with that up and coming scientist, what was her name? Jeanine Matthews? The one who develops serums?"
"She works with medicine." He says. "They were working on bettering our Chicago hospitals with modern technology."
"Oh, bullsh*t." I mutter.
"Tris," Tobias says, in a warning voice.
"Sorry," I say. "It's just... I have a feeling that whatever they're up to, we need to stop it."
He nods. "We should. But don't do anything without my consent." His eyes eyes soften. "I don't want you getting hurt."
I sigh. "I won't get hurt, Tobias."
"Please," he murmurs softly. "Let's figure this out as a team."
I sigh. "Alright."
*****************************
That night, I lay awake next to Tobias, staring at the ceiling; too many things plaguing my mind.
Marcus, Jeanine, The Government. I peer over Tobias, and my alarm clock reads 1:30 am.
I lay back down, and return my gaze to the ceiling. I think Tobias and I should go visit Jeanine, and talk to her directly. She might be honest with us. Tobias lays next to me, gently pressed into my side. The muscles in his face are relaxed, and his mouth hangs open slightly. He looks peaceful. And very attractive, might I add. I rest my head on his toned chest, and his arm wraps around me.
"Can't sleep?" He asks, his voice sluggish.
I shake my head against his the soft flannel of his pajama shirt.
"What's troubling you?" His eyelids slowly open, to reveal the beautiful dark blue eyes I know so well. I wouldn't be able to see them though; if I had not been awake for such a long time. But now my eyes have completely adjusted to the darkness, and the moonlight illuminates his features with a soft, white glow.
"Jeanine, Marcus, and just," I shake my head. "I don't know. I feel violated."
He nods. "Yeah, I do too." He shakes his head. "I can't believe he's hurt you." He mutters.
His hand slides down the back of my head, stroking my hair idly. I take a deep breath against his chest and let out a small sigh. His heart beats fast underneath his soft shirt. Then his big, rough, yet gentle hands begin to play with my hair.
"I love you." He says.
I smile and lift my head off of his chest to look at him.
"And I will never," His hand grips my hair tightly, but not tightly enough to hurt me. "ever," he continues. "let any of them hurt you."
His deep set eyes sparkle in the moonlight and his full lower lip and spare upper lip seem to glow. I turn to where I am laying on my side, and I place my hand on his cheek. He blinks, and his eyelashes touch the skin underneath his eyebrow. I've never noticed that before. The darkness and the white glow combined make the perfect atmosphere, as I stare into the depths of his ocean-like eyes. I run my thumb along his cheek, gently. He lifts up his arm to hold my cheek, and carefully lowers my face down to his. This kiss is unlike our other ones, it is slow, and gentle, and more of a comforting kiss. His warm lips press against mine softly, sending chills down my spine. His lips then move to my jawline, and eventually my neck. A small sigh escapes from my throat, and my face burns. I feel Tobias's lips stretch into a grin against my skin, as his lips move down to my collarbone. He kisses each raven that Tori tattooed along the line of my collarbone the moment I turned sixteen. I don't know if my father has forgiven me for that yet. But right now, I don't care. I don't care that my father doesn't approve of my fearless friends, or that the government could possibly be plotting things and using us as guinea pigs, or that Jeanine is experimenting with things that could possibly destroy our city. I don't care. As Tobias's lips move back up to mine, I realize that there is nothing in this world that I care about more than him.
