Chapter 08

- Tris -

"Will you go to the dance with me?"

I try to recall the brief conversation I had with Christina and Will last week. Christina said Robert was stealing glances at me in class, and that we were passing looks to each other. I don't remember looking particularly at Robert in that kind of way, but if Christina saw it, then maybe Robert saw it too and got the wrong idea. Will thinks he likes me, which I'm guessing is true, now that he's asking me to the dance.

I think of how I feel about Robert. He's a good friend, but I'm not sure I like him in that way. But… it's not like he's asking me to be his girlfriend—it's just a dance. I don't have anything to lose so maybe I should go with him. If I eventually start to like him, then… that's great. And if not, I can just tell him, or not agree to him next time. It's not a big deal—it's just a dance.

"Sure."

Robert is evidently surprised at the simple answer. "Really? …Uh, great. So… maybe I'll pick you up on Friday?"

"We can figure something out later." I shrug casually. It feels like we're setting up a meeting for a group project instead of for a dance.

"Yeah…" He says and looks at me cheerfully.

Robert opens the door for me and we enter the cafeteria together. He has a bright smile as he waves goodbye to me and goes to his friends. I wave back, but I also bite the inside of my cheek. It feels like I just did something wrong.

I quickly buy a slice of pizza from the cafeteria line and go to our usual table. When I get there, Christina looks at me with shame in her brown eyes.

"Was it about me? Was it about what happened this morning?" She bites her lower lip as if she's expecting me to scold her about the shouting match she had with Jake.

"No…" I say as I sit down. "Robert asked me to go to the dance with him."

As expected, all of my friends react in some kind of bewildered way. All except Tobias, who furrows brow and chews his lunch silently.

"What did you say?" Marlene asks with an excited voice.

"'Sure'."

Will lifts a teasing eyebrow at me. "I thought you don't like him."

"I never said that. At least, I don't remember saying that…" I try to recall when Will might be referring to but nothing comes to mind.

"So you do like him," Zeke says with a teasing glint.

"Well… I don't know… but it's just a dance, right?"

Zeke stares at me and appraises my reply. Then he nods in an uncertain manner as if it's barely passable. Unfortunately, it's not a passable answer for everyone.

"I don't think you should go with him," Tobias says from beside me.

I look at him sharply. "What? Why not?"

"Someone's going to get hurt."

My blood warms at the implication that I'm not capable of protecting myself, or that Robert would try to take advantage of me because he's not that type of person. "I can take care of myself, you know," I say, rolling my eyes.

"I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about Robert." Tobias' voice is stern and reproachful. "I'd hate to see him get led on just because you're being stubborn and you feel the need to prove yourself after what Peter said."

His eyes are cold and piercing as they focus on me, and I hate it. I hate how he knows what's unconsciously plaguing my mind even before I know what I'm thinking. I hate how he's right—about me being stubborn and wanting to prove myself. And maybe deep down, this is the reason why I agreed to Robert—I don't want to be stiff. I hate how Tobias knows this before I do, but now, I hate myself for using Robert. And I hate how I'm too stubborn to admit to that too.

"Wait, what did Peter say?" Uriah asks with a mouthful of food.

"Nothing," I snap. It sounds vicious even to my ears, and I know I'll feel guilty later for misplacing my anger on Uriah. I turn back to my best friend and try to speak evenly. "How do you know I don't actually like Robert? Maybe I'll like him after getting to know him better."

"I highly doubt that," Tobias scoffs. "He's not your type."

"Oh, and what is my type?" I challenge.

His eyes narrow at me and I feel myself glaring at him in the same way. For a second, I think he's about to say something like 'Peter' just to spite me.

"Um…" Christina clears her throat nervously, interrupting the two of us. "Tris is right. It's just a dance. It's not like he asked her to marry him. So… it's not a big deal if she doesn't like him. I mean, people go to dances together as friends too…"

I turn away from Tobias and relieve some of my irritation in the form of a sigh.

"Yeah... So uh, what's everyone going as?" Zeke asks, obviously trying to diffuse the tension between us. "We're supposed to have costumes."

"Mine's a secret!" Uriah says smugly.

"So is mine," Marlene adds.

Shauna frowns and nudges her. "I thought we were going to shop for costumes together."

"Oh… I forgot. I already got something…" she replies sheepishly.

"I still need a costume," Christina says. "Maybe the three of us can go." She glances at me, silently asking if I want to come, so I shrug.

"Cool, I know a store we can go to. Wanna go after school today?" Shauna tilts her head in question.

Christina nods eagerly while I mumble, "Okay."

"Wait, are you all going to this dance?" Tobias asks, lifting an eyebrow at the group.

"Yeah, aren't you?" Will says. "I thought Zeke got the tickets already."

Zeke nods, chewing on his burger. "Yup. I bought tickets for everyone. From Caleb, since student council's running the whole thing. I expect all of you to pay me back, by the way."

Tobias puckers his lips. "I don't remember saying I'd go."

"Well, too bad. You're already on the attendees list. And maybe you can ask Lauren to go with you," Zeke suggests with a grin.

Tobias rolls his eyes. He doesn't tell Zeke that he already asked and that Lauren isn't going with him. I don't say anything either, because it's not in my place to tell. And after the small quarrel we just had, I'm sort of annoyed and if I do say something, it will sound like I'm mocking him for not having a date to the dance. For some reason, this thought makes me wish I hadn't agreed to go with Robert. It makes me wish I didn't have a date for the dance either.

-x-

After school, Christina drives Shauna, herself, and I to the costume store via Shauna's directions. When we enter the establishment, I feel my mouth gaping at the numerous aisles of costumes. They have everything ranging from bloody and gruesome to cute and adorable. The aisles are somewhat messy, probably because of the many people looking through them this time of year. There's a fair amount of customers in the store for a Monday afternoon. Most of them are like us—students visiting after school.

The three of us stroll through the aisles together. My arms are linked with Shauna's while we follow Christina who's excitedly commenting on everything in the store. Although I'm not a big fan of shopping, I find myself enjoying this because it's fun seeing all the different costumes.

"Oh, look at this!" Christina says. She picks up a very realistic looking zombie mask. It has a gashing hole on one cheek that's painted to look like the skin has been ripped open.

Shauna laughs and I crinkle my nose as Christina tries to put it on.

"Agh, nevermind," Christina makes a disgusted face and puts the mask back. "It smells funny… I don't think I want something with a mask."

I chuckle at her expression. "Do you guys know what you want to dress up as?"

"I'm thinking a doll," Shauna muses, tapping her chin.

"A doll?"

"Yeah, like a porcelain doll."

"Oooh…" Christina grins. "Those creepy things."

"Mhm, what about you two?"

"I have no idea," I say, examining a headband with cat ears on them. "There's so much to choose from."

"I know… Maybe we should just close our eyes…" Christina closes her eyes and takes a few steps away from us. "…and get the first thing we touch." She says. Her hand reaches out and tugs on a costume on the racks. "Oh!"

"What is that?" I walk over to her curiously.

"It's a black widow costume." she laughs. "Wow, I think I might actually get this. Will's going as Spiderman so…"

"Well, that's cute," Shauna smiles, looking at the costume in Christina's hands. "But isn't it just a black suit? It's kind of hard to tell what you're supposed to be."

"Yeah, but there's a red spider symbol on the lower back," Christina says, reading the description on the tag. "Oh! And it glows in the dark too!"

I can see that look in her eyes—the one that usually says she's found the thing. It's a look I recognize from our shopping trips. "That's actually pretty cool. You should get it, Chris."

"I think I will." Christina grins. "That's one down, two more to go. Let's go find you a doll dress," she says to Shauna.

We head towards another section of the store which I soon learn is entirely devoted to dresses.

"How about these?" I ask, pointing to several of them. They all have laces and frills—too much for my taste—and resemble doll dresses with their flowery and plaid prints.

"Hm, these are nice," Shauna says, feeling the material between her fingers. "Lynn's got a bottle of blood at home; I can probably use that to make it look scarier."

Christina smirks. "A bottle of blood, huh?"

"Oh, you know what I mean," Shauna laughs, taking a dress from the rack.

Christina helps her decide on a dress while I continue down the aisle, looking at the many dresses. I skip over the extravagant Victorian-styled ones. They're definitely not something I would wear for Halloween. There are also some profession-themed dresses like maids and nurses but those look unbearably skimpy.

I move on to the next aisle which is also of dresses and skirts. These are more on the cutesy and childish side, and I'm about to turn away when my eyes catch sight of a bright red hood that stands out among the row of pastel-coloured fabrics.

I take it out to examine it. The dress of the costume is simple—light blue and white in colour. A thick scarlet cape with a hood is tied around it. Little red riding hood.

"You found something?"

I hear Shauna's voice and turn to see her and Christina strolling towards me. She has picked out one of the dresses with a flower print while Christina holds on to her black widow suit.

"How's this?" I hold up the costume by the hanger to show them.

"Alice in Wonderland?" Christina raises an eyebrow.

"No." I pout and point at the red hood. "Red riding hood."

"Oh." Christina chuckles in embarrassment. "The dress looks like Alice."

Shauna picks up a woven basket that sits on a shelf beside the costume rack. "Look, it comes with this too. It's cute, but I'm kind of surprised you picked out something so girlish," she teases.

"I like the hood," I reply honestly. "It's sort of mysterious."

"Of course you do." Christina rolls her eyes. "Well, it actually does suit you. Ready to check out then?"

I look at the costume again. Shauna's right—the dress is girlish and not very me. But the red hood gives off a tough and mysterious feel that draws me in. Besides, when else will I get to wear a hooded cape?

"Okay."


Yeah, the second scene is a filler. :P The next chapter will be long though, promise. I'll post it up on Friday.

I have a problem. D: I'm getting to one of the turning points in the story and I really did mean it when I said Tobias/Tris will be seeing other people along the way (see notes in first chapter). But the Tobias in my head refuses to cooperate and my inner fangirl is throwing a tantrum so I'm kind of at a loss. I might veer a bit off path from what I have planned. So the bad news, some of the major events I planned out will be scrapped and I'll be venturing into the dark unknown. And the good news, you'll see less of Lauren—or maybe this is bad news for some of you, who knows?

Honestly, I'm kind of happy, not because I will be writing a lot less TobiasxLauren scenes (which I have been dreading), but because I can focus on other things that might actually help character development as opposed to a silly love triangle. Now, I just need to plan and execute them properly.

So yeah, just wanted to share my writing thoughts though you probably don't care about what I'm saying except that there will be less TobiasxLauren. (:

Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean FourTris will be together sooner so don't get your hopes too high. ;)