A/N: JerkZero and JerkNone back to update! Miss us?
***Tris's POV***
Tobias brought me up to my room. My house being much more peaceful than his. He pulled my covers back and set me down in them. After he set me down he began kissing me. I then thought of the articles and how they stated no sexual activities until after you're married. It shook me when Marcus had said sex because he was basically saying he was okay with it, as it was against the law. And with Peter wanting to get it on with me. It was all over my head.
Tobias crawled into bed next to me and began kissing me again. The articles did state that kissing was highly encouraged and expected, which made everything easier.
Tobias was the last thought I had before I fell asleep in his arms, comforting me from the long day.
I wake up to my alarm clock the next morning and when I go to hit the off, I remember I can't reach it because Tobias is right next to me. Tobias's hand slams down on the top of my alarm clock, shutting it off. "Dang that thing is loud," he mumbles.
"You're telling me," I say back.
He wraps his arms tighter around me and I snuggle into his chest. He mouth rests in my hair at the top of my head, and I feel self-conscious. I jump up and out of his grasp with ease, startling him. He rubs his head and watches me as I collect my jeans and his hoodie, which my mom recently washed, no questions asked.
I look at him as I hold his sweatshirt. "Here, catch."
He holds it in one hand after I toss it, gets up, and ties the sleeves around me. He slopes his features near mine, and his whisper reminds me of when Peter got hold of me at the mall.
"Keep it," he says. I look at him for a long moment, then break the contact by going to my dresser and rummaging around. He eyes me while I look for the small red box tucked somewhere near the back.
I pull out a thin silver ring with no inscribings on it. Hiding it behind my back and smirking, I walk over to Tobias. I grab his knuckles and press it into the palm of his hand. It's all I can give him; so I hope it's enough.
"Shouldn't I be the one to give you a ring?" he asks, eyebrow quirked up. Despite myself, I blush at his allusion to marriage.
"My dad gave it to me. It was his grandfathers. He told me to give it to someone special. Someone I care about."
He swallows hard. He shakes his head, resting his palm back to mine.
"I can't take this," he protests. I bite back a lump forming in my throat.
"Why not? I love you, Tobias."
"It's not exactly a fair trade, though. I give you a used sweatshirt, and you give me a ring?"
I chuckle, glad he is only concerned with the aesthetics of it. I press it back into his hand and leave to get ready. I shower, letting the warm water slowly wake me up. Once out and dried off, I change into my clothes. I throw on tennis shoes today for my chores. I put my hair in a French braid, knowing that by tonight it will have soft waves. I open a few drawers and finally find some eyeliner. Because Tobias is here, I feel I should attempt to look at least a little better.
When I come back out, Tobias has put on the ring and is studying it intently while sitting on my bed. He doesn't notice me at first when I come in, so I smile and make my footsteps louder.
"Hey," I say.
"You know, I've been thinking," he begins, causing my throat to tighten. "Maybe," he has to start over. "Maybe we should consider… you know?"
I cross my arms over my chest. "Getting married?"
He looks up at me with his beautiful eyes that look cyan in color today. He nods his head very slowly, as though not wanting to alarm me.
"I don't want you to feel rushed, though. You're only sixteen, and you've got a lot more time than me to find someone. I was willing to let the government pick a partner for me, but then I met you," he practically whispers.
I walk closer to him and sit on his lap, wrapping an arm around his neck as he wraps his own around my back. I get as close to his face as I dare and grab his jaw with my other hand.
"I want to be with you, Tobias. You're the only person I've ever felt this with," I take his hand and place it on my heart. He stares at it, with the silver ring on his finger, and opens his mouth to speak.
"Tris!" Caleb calls, making me jump from Tobias's lap and hurry to my door.
"Coming!" I call back. I turn to give Tobias an apologetic look and head down the stairs. I hear him trailing only about three behind me. He must want to go home and change clothes, but I don't want him to. As selfish as it sounds, I want him to stay with me. I want to wake up to him holding me in a house that belongs to us, getting ready for our jobs.
Downstairs, Caleb gives Tobias a look and tells me to head on out and start. I fear what he will say to Tobias and accuse him of.
I hide behind the door, my hands cupped around my ear and pressed to the house to hear what they're saying. Though muffled, I can make out the words.
"You know the laws," Caleb says.
"Yes, and we didn't break any. We had a bit of an incident last night, and I wanted to stay with her to make sure she was safe," Tobias is saying.
"Is that Peter involved with this?" Caleb asks.
"In a way, yes."
"I want to beat the son of a-," Caleb starts saying but Tobias cuts him off.
"I beat you to it last night," Tobias says.
"I don't believe you," Caleb says.
"Look at my knuckles," he says and I can almost see the bruises lining his knuckles in my mind.
"Just don't get any ideas on what to do with my sister. She still has 2 years to find a partner, unlike you who has only 2 lone months," Caleb says. What happened to him wanting me to find someone? He must really be bipolar.
"I love Tris with all my heart, Caleb, if she wanted to wait to find someone else, I'd let her. I love her that much," Tobias says and it makes my heart glow.
"Well maybe you should let her have some time. My Tris deserves a good man. I don't want her to end up in an abusive-" Caleb says.
"I'm not abusive!" Tobias shouts, "I would never lay a finger on Tris! I love her Caleb! I LOVE TRIS!" he yells.
I look to see my parents looking up at the house from their jobs on the farm. I run out to the barn to milk the cows, not wanting Tobias and Caleb to know I was listening.
***Tobias's POV***
"I'm not abusive!" I yell, "I would never lay a finger on Tris! I love her Caleb! I LOVE TRIS!"
My voice echos. If Tris was still close enough to the house she would have heard me.
"My little sister deserves better than some guy who's parents are... special. Ya I went there Tobias, ya I did. My parents told me," Caleb says.
As he says it his parents walk into the house. Natalie starts to push Caleb away from me and Andrew asks me, "Do you really love her that much, Tobias?"
"I do, Mr. Prior," I say.
"Please call me Andrew," he says.
"I do, I was going to wait but I guess I could ask you now. Would you give me your permission to let me marry your daughter?" I ask.
My insides are churning with anticipation. What if he rejects me? What if he says that he agrees with Caleb, and that I'm not good enough?
His eyes study mine for a long time. "Sit down."
This isn't going to be good. I comply, though, and wait for him to speak again. It takes quite a while, but he finally does.
"Tobias, I've known your parents since before you born. I know you're toughened up by your father, and I know your mother isn't in your life very often. I understand that this must have been very hard for you. You may even feel Tris is the one person you can trust. However, I know what happens when boys like you marry. They may vow to never touch their wife, but things can change."
I open my mouth to protest, but he puts up a hand to stop me.
"Tris got to experience your life at dinner last night, I presume, and she still wants to be with you. I can't hold onto her forever, and I need to let her find her path on her own. So far you've proven to me that you love her. But if you promise me you won't hurt her, can you keep it?" he asks.
I look at the ring on my finger, hidden from his view. She trusts me, and I trust her. Her father is right; she's about the only person I trust. But there's one other, and that's myself. I trust myself to not ever hurt her, emotionally or physically, because I love her. I swallow and begin my answer.
"Sir, er- Andrew, I love Tris. You know that. I understand this may be a bit too fast, but I'm running out of time. I had convinced myself that whoever I got paired with I would deal with. Now, though, I know I want to be with your daughter. I can promise you I won't hurt her, because you don't hurt people you love." I take a deep breath and finally meet his eyes. Caleb and Natalie step into the room, having heard everything. I'm a bit embarrassed, to say the least, because I'm not one to express my emotions like that.
Natalie puts a hand on my shoulder, and Andrew nods his head.
"Very well, then. Now the fun part, how are you going to ask her?"
***Peter's POV***
I wake up to my dad screaming in my ear. "Wake up you worthless piece of shit!" he screams.
I flutter my eyes open in response.
"Today, why don't you go find yourself a partner and finally bring worth to your family!" he yells.
"Okay, okay dad," I say, fighting the urge to roll my eyes.
I grab my phone, my pain pills and a change of clothes and go to the bathroom to take a shower, but first I type up a text to Tris and it says: Kathy I love you. Meet at the park at three? XOXO, Four I was able to make it look like it came from Four without getting her phone again, thanks to the data Eric pulled off of it.
I laugh looking at the text. It will sure ruin her day, thinking that Four has plans to cheat. I hop in the shower to wash all the blood off myself.
***Tris's POV***
I try to focus on feeding the chickens and milking the cows. Really, I do. But with the words of Caleb and Tobias running around in my head, filling every space and section, I can't. I don't talk to the animals like I usually do. I just automatically perform the tasks. I wash off my hands with the frigid water of the hose before going inside.
I don't feel hungry anymore, any appetite I once had ruined by the recent events. I take one last sniff of the hoodie I wear as a brace to go inside with. What I see is a bit of a surprise.
My father is reading the paper with his usual coffee, my mom at work cooking away, and Caleb and Tobias are talking politely with each other on the couch while watching TV. I notice Tobias is holding the book I'm reading and that I had left on the counter by mistake the other day. I enter with caution and take my usual seat at the counter to drink some milk. No one says anything to me, and I feel somewhat suspicious. Then I notice Caleb has my phone.
"Tobias? What is your contact name in Tris's phone?" he asks.
"Last time I checked it was the hottest dude to walk the planet with Four in parentheses behind it," Tobias responds, not at all abashed.
"So, not Four? And you don't know anyone Kathy?" he asks.
Tobias gives him a look.
"Who in the mother truckin world is Kathy?" replies Tobias.
Caleb shrugs. "I don't know. But apparently, someone named Four just texted Tris telling Kathy he loved her and to meet him at 3."
I rush over to them. "What? Let me see!"
I snatch my phone from his hands and read the text. It's not from Tobias, not at all.
"What's that on the back?" Caleb asks, popping the back of my phone. He rips out a small chip in it and twirls it between his fingers. "Looks like someone's been getting every text and call you do."
I run a hand through my hair. "Peter! Ugh, that little-"
"Beatrice!" my father interjects with a cough.
Tobias narrows his eyes at the bug along with Caleb. "What do we do?"
Caleb smiles. "Oh, I know exactly what to do."
A/N: Question of the Chapter: How do you think Tobias should propose to Tris? We will consider all ideas!