Chapter 9

Four POV

"Hey man." Zeke greets me with a large smile on his face as I walk into homeroom.

"What?" I ask, suspiciously.

"I asked Shauna out." He says and I motion for him to continue. "She said yes!" He looked so happy, like a kid in a candy store.

I laugh. "Nice going, I'm happy for you."

"Your turn." Zeke raises his eyebrows and turns me around to face the door where Tris and Christina had just walked in.

Tris caught my eye and gave me a small smile. She tucked a piece of hair begind ber ear and glared at Christina when she whispered something to her. She looked so be so beautiful today, her clothes loose, yet fitting and her long hair cascading down to her waist. It seemed even more blonde today if possible.

"Staring." Zeke sing singed in my ear and I shoved him away, tearing my gaze from Tris.

"Shut up." I say, taking my seat.

The late bell rings and Christina and Tris move from the doorway to their desks as our teacher starts to take attendance. Tris sits down next to me and sets her bag down.

She pulls out a book and starts reading. Marlene sees this and rolls her eyes, snatching the book away from her.

"Wha–" She starts when her book is removed from her grasp.

"You are part of our group now which means that you must socialize." Marlene interrupts, swinging the book back and forth in her hand before putting it in her backpack.

"This is being confiscated until further notice." She states, zipping it up.

Tris sighs, but with a smile. "Whatever you say."

"Oh, did you hear? Zeke's dating my sister." She says.

Christina gasps and I grin. "You're dating Shauna? And you didn't tell me?" Chris shrieks.

Zeke turns bright red and shoots a glare Marlene's way. She only shrugs.

"It wasn't hard. Shauna came home all happy and started squealing about how you had finally asked her out. You took your time, Zeke." Marlene tells him.

"It wasn't that long." Zeke mutters.

"Dude, you guys have liked each other since sophomore year, she's been waiting this whole time for you to ask her out." I say to him.

"Yeah, thanks for backing me up." Zeke hits my shoulder.

I laugh and point out, "Its the truth."


Tris POV

"Ugh, I hate gym." Christina says to us as we change in the locker room.

I'm tying the laces on my sneakers, so I look up at her and shrug. "Its not so bad."

"Are you kidding me? We have to run laps every day, of course its bad!" She exclaims.

"I like running. It helps me clear my mind." I say to her and Shauna.

I gather up my hair and tie it back into a ponytail. I go to the full length mirror and look at myself, checking from the front and back. My hair, even in a ponytail, reaches down almost to my waist, near the small of my back. It rally grew out over the summer.

I see another reflection in the mirror and turn to face Lauren, the girl that had glared at me the first day.

"Can I help you?" I ask her, a little annoyed.

She laughs and looks at her friends. "Yeah, you can stay away from Four."

There was something about her demeanor that pissed me off and I made the stupid mistake of challenging her.

"Why? Afraid of a little competition?" I fire.

She looks a little shocked at first, as if she didn't expect me to stand up to her. Well, someone has to. But, the smirk came back on her face almost immediately.

"As if you would be competition. I mean, what am I even competing against?" She made a show of motioning to my chest and I turned beet red.

She's found my weak spot, and she knows it. My child like frame is the one thing that has always held me back. And now that Lauren knows it, I'll never win.

"At least she doesn't look like the opening act in some freak show. News flash: I think the circus left without you." Christina appears at my side.

"And sweetie, no matter how much concealer you use, its obviously not enough to hide that mess." Shauna defends me.

Lauren glares at us, huffs and then exits the locker room, her little minions at her heels. I turn to face my new friends.

"Thanks guys." I say to them.

"No problem. Lauren is a piece of work. I take any chance I can get to insult her." Shauna says.

We laugh and then go out to the gym together. We stand against the bleachers, waiting for the gym teacher to arrive. Four, Zeke and Uriah come over to where we're standing.

"Girls take so long to change for gym. What do you do in there anyway?" Uriah whines.

"Insult pig headed girls who think they can walk all over our friend." Christina looks pointedly at Lauren.

A muscle in Four's jaw jumped. "Is she giving you a hard time?"

I didn't want him to feel sorry for me. I didn't want him to pity me, or to feel as if he had to protect me. I shake my head. "Its fine, really. No big deal."

"Tris–" Shauna begins, but I cut her off with a look.

"Its no big deal." I turn back to Four. "It's okay."

"Are you sure?" Now all three boys are looking at me with concern.

I nod. "Nothing I can't handle."

A/N: What do you guys think? What did you think of the introduction to Lauren? And the little scene in the locker room? Did you like how protective the guys were of Tris? Let me know in the reviews, don't forget to favorite and follow, thank you!

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