A/N: Hi guys! I hope you enjoy the update :) Please let me know what you think. And I'm shouting out my wonderful Beta again BK2U because she killed it as per usual.

Tris

Tobias pulls me through the house, ignoring the different people calling out greetings to him.

Somehow, the music that had been playing earlier is even louder and more pulsating than before. It carries through to the backyard where Tobias is leading me.

He's wearing a fierce expression on his face, and I can see his determination in the set of his jaw.

If my name was Juanita Torres, I'd be shaking in my boots right about now.

She's lucky, though. This anger is much more subdued than his anger for Edward had been.

If I'm being honest with myself, it's not a side of him I enjoy. He's fearsome this way, and fear is not an emotion I like experiencing around him.

In fact, even now all I want to do is redirect his attention back to me so he can be soft again, easy and lighthearted.

Maybe we could do a little bit of the dancing that Shauna and Zeke are doing now, underneath the string of lights hanging in Zeke's large gazebo.

Nita, Lauren, and Marlene are gathered around the fire pit now, talking and laughing with beers in their hands.

Tobias heads straight for them, pulling me with him.

I'm almost relieved when we're intercepted by Cara.

"Oh, I know that look," she says, frowning. "What's going on?"

Tobias shakes his head at her.

"Not now, Cara. I'm in the middle of something."

She presses a hand to his chest to keep him from pushing past her.

"I can see that. But you look like you're about to explode. So, tell me what it is so I can tell you if it's a bad idea or not."

Tobias lets out a frustrated breath.

"Nita's spreading rumors about me," he says through his teeth, "and it's making Tris upset, so I'm going to go over there and handle it. Is that okay with you?"

"What rumors?" Cara says, looking between the two of us.

I shrug my shoulders.

"She kind of implied…" I glance at Tobias sideways before finishing, "...that she was sleeping with Tobias."

"Oh my God…" Cara rolls her eyes letting out a small sigh. "Jesus, Nita…" She blows out a little breath.

"Tris, I'm really sorry. I hope you know that's not true."

Tobias scoffs.

"Yeah, I filled her in. If you'll excuse me." He tries again to push past her, but she stops him, grabbing onto his arm.

"You can't go over there right now, not with all guns blazing. She's a bitch, but she doesn't deserve your full wrath. You need to calm down first."

He lets out a frustrated groan, dropping my hand in favor of rubbing his own forehead in irritation.

"Listen, all you have to do is make a statement," Cara says.

"A statement?" he asks curiously, glancing at me, but I have no idea what Cara means, either. In all honesty, it's becoming increasingly more difficult for me to focus on anything but the music and how badly I want to dance and drink more.

I glance around, trying to spot anyone with a shot glass or a red Solo cup to throw my way.

"You need to let people know what you two are doing, otherwise it's never going to stop."

Tobias looks at her for a moment, tilting his head like she'd said something that made sense.

"Right. A statement." He turns to me. "I need your help with something. You up for it?"

"Okay," I say quickly.

"Thank you, Cara," he says to her. "You're a genius."

Then he pulls me towards the three girls sitting near the firepit. Cara follows us, looking concerned, but she doesn't try to stop him again.

Nita looks up as we approach, and Lauren and Marlene follow her gaze.

"Hey!" Nita says, dragging out the 'y' as she slurs her way through the word. She's at least as drunk as I am at this point.

She stands up, smiling at Tobias. "I was wondering when you were going to grace us with your presence." She pouts, sticking her bottom lip out.

I resist the urge to gag.

Her ability to pretend like I don't even exist is impressive. She talks to him as if I'm not standing there, as if he isn't holding my hand, as if she and Tobias are the only two people at the party.

Tobias just stares at her for a moment, his jaw twitching.

"Nita, just the person I was looking for, actually. I heard something really interesting today."

His voice is so calm and steady that it shocks me. I look up at him in surprise, but he only has eyes for Nita.

"Interesting? About me? Like what?" she says, tilting her head in curiosity.

"About both of us, actually. Apparently, you and I are sleeping together."

Nita freezes for a moment, caught in her game, but her face only loses composure for a second before her mask is back in place.

She lets out a little laugh.

"That's so weird. Where did you hear that?"

"From me," I say, unable to help myself.

Nita looks at me for a moment, then directs her gaze back to Tobias.

"Tris seems to think that you told her that we are actively hooking up."

Nita finally looks at me again, her carefully crafted mask slipping a bit. She shakes her head slowly, her face turning into a caricature of concern.

"Tris, I am so sorry if you thought that's what I said. That's not what I meant at all."

I have to admit, she's really good at her game.

"How else was I supposed to take what you said?" I question her, wishing that my brain felt less fuzzy and I had more of my wits about me.

She shrugs, one hand reaching up to play with her hair.

"Tris, Tobias and I have been friends forever. We even dated a little bit during sophomore year. He drives me home from practice sometimes, that's all. I'm so sorry you took it the wrong way. You should've said something, I would've corrected you."

"Nita," Tobias says sharply, "she's not stupid. She didn't take it the wrong way."

"Well, she must have," Nita insists, "because I never said that we were sleeping together."

"What did you say?" Tobias asks.

She finally drops the act, anger and frustration showing on her face.

"I said that you used to drive me home from practice. Literally. Look, it's not my fault that she misinterpreted what I said, Tobias. I'm not responsible for her little sophomore feelings getting hurt. I didn't do anything."

"Alright, then let's clear the air, since all parties involved are standing right here."

Nita sucks in her cheeks, pursing her lips.

"Fine," she says between her teeth.

Other partygoers have started to gather around, sensing some sort of altercation happening.

Tobias looks at me when he speaks.

"Nita and I dated for approximately two and a half weeks in our sophomore year. It didn't last longer than that. There was no second go around. We didn't sleep together then, and we never have since."

He turns to Nita, eyebrows raised.

"Sound accurate to you?"

She looks like she'd rather do anything but agree with him, but she does, nodding slowly.

"Good. Is anyone else confused about the relationship Nita and I did or did not have?" He asks, turning around to look at Marlene, then Lauren, and then the rest of the gathering crowd.

No one moves or speaks at all.

"Great. I'm glad we're all on the same page."

Nita rolls her eyes so far into the back of her head that, for a moment, I think they might not ever reappear.

"Oh, and one more thing."

He grabs my hand, pulling me towards him, reaching his other hand out to touch my hair.

"Tris is my girlfriend."

I stare at him in utter bewilderment at his use of the word. He's never used it before, but I absolutely love the way it sounds coming out of his mouth.

"And if anyone has a problem with that…" he continues, "…I don't really care." He leans down then, capturing my lips with his.

For a moment, I'm thrown off guard by how many people are standing around watching, but then I realize that I don't care.

Tobias is mine and I am his, and now everyone else will know it, too.

I throw an arm around his shoulder as he leans into the kiss, fitting his hand to the arch of my back.

As blissed out as I am, I can still hear some of the crowd catcalling as he kisses me.

He pulls away then, looking at Nita.

"Nita, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here because I've known you a long time and I know that you're drunk, so I'm going to assume that you didn't mean to be rude or condescending in any way to my girlfriend. I know you would never do that. Right?"

She stares at him for a moment and then slowly nods.

"Of course not," she says in a quiet voice.

"Of course not," Tobias says soberly. "The bullshit ends here. Understood?"

I almost feel bad for her with the way her eyes are glossed over with tears. Almost.

Nita stares at him for a moment and then picks up her cup, draining the contents before throwing it near the fire and stomping off towards the house.

The crowd starts to disperse, realizing that the altercation and resulting scene are over. Everyone breaks off into small groups talking and laughing.

My heart is pounding out of my chest.

Tobias looks at me, grinning in spite of himself.

"Thank you for your help on that."

I stare at him for a long moment, unable to keep the smile off of my face.

"I don't think you'll have any more problems."

"No, probably not."

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Are you kidding?" I let out a shocked laugh. "You just called me your girlfriend."

He smirks, shrugging.

"Yeah, I guess I did do that, huh? Well, that's what you are." He reaches out, brushing his fingers across my cheek, down my neck and across my collarbone.

I shiver unabashedly.

"Well, if you want to be."

"I want to be." I surprise myself with how little I have to think about it, with how very much I want it.

"Well, thank God," he says, his brow furrowing a bit, "because that would've been really awkward if not." He laughs, but I cut him off by standing on my tiptoes to kiss him. He pulls me close, sighing against my lips.

His sigh makes me shiver; I am relief for him.

The realization makes my whole body flash with heat.

When he pulls away, I stumble slightly, dizzy with desire.

Tobias opens his mouth to say something, but I miss whatever it is as Christina rushes me, throwing her arms around me.

"Thank God!" she exclaims, squeezing me tightly.

"Why didn't you text me and tell me you found her?" she says to Tobias, her tone bordering on anger.

"I'm sorry. I kind of forgot. There was a lot going on."

Christina frowns at him and then turns back to me.

"Where were you?"

I shake my head quickly.

"Ugh, getting groped by Edward Campbell." I stick my tongue out, feigning putting my finger down my throat.

Christina's eyes grow wide.

"Gross! Seriously?"

"Edward Campbell's here?" It's Cara's voice. I hadn't realized she was still standing with us.

Tobias whips around to look at her.

"It's okay," he says, giving her a look.

"I don't think he's here anymore. I took care of it. You don't have to worry."

Cara's paler than I remember ever seeing her at just the mention of Edward's name. I wonder briefly what kind of history is there, but I don't ask. It doesn't seem to be appropriate conversation for a party.

Zeke appears then, handing me and Christina cups full of beer.

"Come on guys," he says, throwing his arms around Christina and me. "The night is young, and none of you are drunk enough."

Christina bumps her cup to mine and we both take large sips.

"There we go!" Zeke says excitedly. "Tris, you are so much cooler than your boyfriend."

Tobias crosses his arms, nodding sarcastically.

I blush heavily at the fact that Zeke calls him my boyfriend.

My boyfriend.

"I think we're both pretty cool," I say. Tobias pulls me into him again, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

Cara pulls Zeke into conversation and Christina starts wandering towards the gazebo to find Will.

I'm grateful for another brief moment in time that is just ours.

"Hi..." I say into his chest.

"Hi," he says back, looking down at my beer cup.
"You don't have to keep drinking, you know. Zeke's peer pressure isn't real peer pressure."

"I'm just having fun. Don't worry." I lean up and press a kiss to the underside of his chin.

"I'm glad that you're having fun, all things considered," he says softly.

"Yeah, so stop trying to kill my buzz," I tease. I pull away, taking his hand and squeezing it before pulling him towards the gazebo.

We spend the next few hours laughing at Zeke's crazy dance moves and his little brother's painfully funny attempts at trying to get Marlene to dance with him.

Zeke pressures me into two more shots and by the time Eric is yelling for everyone to hit the pool, I'm feeling significantly light, open, and loose, like my body isn't really mine.

"Oh! Skinny dipping, I forgot!" I stand up from my spot on Tobias' lap and start heading towards the pool.

He grabs my hand, pulling me back to him.

"Whoa, what? Skinny dipping?" His expression is amused.

"Yeah, Chris mentioned it earlier. Eric wants everyone to go skinny dipping," I say, as if it's the most obvious and normal thing in the world.

"Honestly, it sounds fantastic because it's so hot out here." I reach for my tank top, moving to take it off.

"Whoa!" he says again, grabbing my hands to stop me.

"You don't want to do that."

"Why not?" It seems like a perfectly fine thing to do now — fun, even.

"Because I don't think you'll be happy about it in the morning."

"Zeke said I should live in the moment."

"Yeah, well, sometimes Zeke is an idiot," he says, raising his eyebrows to solidify the point.

"Well, why don't you just come skinny dipping with me? You need to live in the moment, too." I reach for someone's leftover cup; there's enough beer in it that makes throwing it away seem wrong. Tobias grabs it before I can get to it.

"Hey, I want that!" I say indignantly.

"I'm aware of that. I'm cutting you off."

I stare at him, open-mouthed.

"You can't do that. I'm not even that drunk."

"You want to go skinny dipping," he says, as if that explains everything.

"I think you're very drunk."

"Okay," I say solemnly. "How about you let me have that beer and I promise that I won't go skinny dipping?"

Tobias tilts his head, thinking for a moment.

"Okay, yeah. Or how about this, I don't let you have the beer, and you don't go skinny dipping anyway?"

"Okay, deal," I say quickly and then pause, frowning, realizing this is not the deal I wanted.

"Hey, wait. I didn't—"

Tobias laughs, shaking his head.

"Too late. A deal's a deal."

"Ugh, you're so good at that," I say, falling back into his lap.

He laughs again, shaking his head.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Whatever you want." I give him my best attempt at sultry, leaning my face in closer to his.

I frown when he lets out a low chuckle.

"Come here," he says softly, pressing his lips against mine.

When he pulls away, he keeps his eyes on me, reading something in my eyes that makes him smile.

"Your cheeks are flushed," he says. "It's pretty."

I bring my hands up to touch my cheeks, as if I could feel the color.

He laughs at me, leaning in to press a kiss to the part of my cheek my hand doesn't cover.

"How come you don't drink?" I ask, suddenly incredibly curious.

He pulls back, looking at me for a moment; he shrugs slowly, but doesn't elaborate.

"You should," I say slowly. "It really helps you forget the bad things. I haven't thought about Nita or Edward in hours."

His lips twitch into a smile and he reaches up to brush a few strands of hair away from my forehead.

"I don't need alcohol. I have you for that."

His words ignite a tingling sensation throughout my entire body.

At first, it's pleasant and then it turns into something else entirely.

Out of nowhere, a wave of nausea hits me. I stand up abruptly, not liking the way my stomach now feels like an angry ocean, sloshing, churning and jumping.

"Are you okay?' Tobias asks with concern.

"I don't know. I don't feel so good."

"Okay. You probably drank a little too—" Before he can even get his full sentence out, I turn around and vomit.

"—Much…" he finishes. "Are you alright?"

I shake my head, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Oh my God. Don't look at me," I mumble. There isn't a single thing I can think of that is more embarrassing than this moment.

"Tris, I have to look at you." His voice sounds frustrated and anxious.

"We have to get you cleaned up," he insists, moving towards me.

I hold my hand out to hold him back as another wave of vomit hits.

I let out a moan, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand for the second time.

"I feel like I'm dying."

"You're going to be fine," he says, moving forward and wrapping an arm around me. "Let's get you to the bathroom, okay?"

I place my hand over my mouth, letting him lead me back towards the house. When we reach the back door, Cara appears, almost as if Tobias had sent a signal out for her.

"Hey," he tells her, "could you maybe take her to the bathroom and make sure she's okay?"

"Way to go, Tris," Cara says. "You've officially experienced your first Pedrad party. Come on, you lush."

"I got it," she tells Tobias, wrapping an arm around me and leading me inside.

Tobias

Standing outside of Zeke's bathroom, listening to Tris puke her guts out is not exactly how I planned on ending my night.

Still, that doesn't stop it from being one of the top ten best nights of my life.

Maybe even one of the top 5.

Tris hitting her party quota doesn't change the fact that tonight she agreed to be my girlfriend.

I'm still celebrating that achievement in my head.

"I think she's almost done!" Cara calls from behind the closed bathroom door.

A few moments pass, then I hear Tris' voice.

"I think I'm good..."

She sounds exhausted, and the guilt that's been building inside of me increases. I should have never let her drink so much.

To be fair, I didn't know she'd been drinking with Edward, too, until I heard her tell Christina in the gazebo.

"Are you sure?"

Cara barely gets the words out before Tris is retching again.

"Yeah, it might be a minute!" Cara calls out to me again.

I lean my back against the wall, wishing that I was in there with her instead of out here feeling increasingly guilty.

I'm attempting to let Tris hang on to at least some of her dignity by letting Cara do the work of holding her hair back and helping her clean up afterwards.

I know she's going to be mortified in the morning, but at least it won't be 'my boyfriend had to clean up my vomit' mortified.

Christina finds us a moment later with Will at her side. "How's she doing?" she says, concern on her face.

"Well—" I start, but we all hear another loud retch.

Christina winces and I let out a sigh.

"I think she'll be okay once she gets it all out."

At least I'm hoping.

"I'm gonna take her home when she's done. You guys want a ride?'

Will nods at the question, but Christina's eyes go wide as she stares at me.

"What?" I question.

"You can't take her home like that!"

"I can't?"

"No, her parents will murder her. She'll be grounded until she turns twenty-one."

I let out a groan. I hadn't really thought about that.

"Okay…" I say slowly. "Well, every kid knows how to sneak into their own house, right?"

Christina looks at me incredulously.

"Have you met Tris? Does she really seem the type that sneaks in or out of her house? She doesn't break rules."

Tris is an incredibly straight-laced person. I knew that from just having dinner at her house. She'd never been to a soccer game or a party until tonight.

I'm corrupting her, slowly but surely.

I tilt my head back and forth, trying to come up with a plan.

"Okay, well, can she stay at your place?"

"Normally, yes, but if she comes in that drunk, my mom's going to know, and if my mom knows—"

"—she'll tell Tris' parents." I finish the sentence for her. "Okay," I mumble, wracking my brain desperately for a solution.

"Okay, well, either way, her parents are going to wonder where she is, aren't they?"

Cara opens the bathroom door then, her arms around a pale and worn-out looking Tris.

"Hey," I say, pushing myself off of the wall. "Feeling better?" I ask her.

She shakes her head no while simultaneously blowing out a shaky breath.

"Did you have liquor after beer?" Will asks her.

Tris nods, pouting slightly.

"Come on Tris," he says. "Even I know the saying, 'beer before liquor never sicker, liquor before beer you're in the clear.'"

Christina hits him lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't make her feel worse," she scolds him.

"I have an idea," she says a moment later, pulling out her phone and dialing a number that she clearly knows by heart. She presses the phone to her ear and waits.

"Hi, Natalie! It's Christina." She pauses for a moment, waiting.

"No, no, everything's fine. Tris is playing video games with Rose, so she asked me to call you. We had a really good time at the game and we've been hanging out at my house. Tris and I were just wondering if she could stay over."

She waits again, and we all watch her, impressed with her ability to tell such blatant lies.

"My mom is totally cool about it. Do you want to talk to my mom?" She waits a few beats before continuing.

"Oh...crap," she says, faking forgetfulness rather well, "she's already in bed. She's been working doubles at the hospital." She pauses again.

"No, no. She's honestly fine about it. I promise. Sure. Okay. Tris, say 'hi' to your Mom." Christina says, holding the phone out towards her.

"Hi, Mom!" Tris says from where she's standing, and Christina pulls the phone back to her own ear.

Tris' best impression of normal seems to quell any of Natalie's concerns.

"I'll have her back home before noon tomorrow," Christina promises before hanging up.

"Well at least that part's taken care of," she says matter-of-factly.

I watch Tris as she leans against the wall, eyes shut, doing her best to stave off the nausea.

Cara gives me a meaningful look.

"Tobias—"

"I don't think that's a good idea," I say, cutting her off before she suggests the one thing I don't want her to.

I know she's going to suggest that I take Tris home with me, but the thought sends me into immediate panic.

I can count on one hand the number of friends who have been inside my home before. Actually, I could count them on two fingers, and even at that, it was only because of an extremely rare occasion.

I don't invite people home with me.

I don't like letting them in in that way.

I don't mix my home life with my school life. I don't mix anything with my home life.

Cara lets out a long sigh.

"Well, where's Marcus this weekend?"

I look at her, jaw clenched.

"New York until Monday," I say through my teeth.

"You're going to have to take her home with you. You don't have a lot of options."

I close my eyes, trying to think of any other alternatives.

Taking her home, to my home specifically, comes with a lot of baggage. Baggage that I'm not sure we're ready for.

"It's one night, Tobias," Cara says seriously. "It'll be fine."

"Cara, if he finds out—"
"How would he find out?"

"How does he find out everything that he knows about?"

She shrugs.

"You're going to have to risk it."

"But—"

"She won't care about that." Cara cuts me off quickly. "And honestly, I don't know why you do. It's kind of a selling point."

"What are you guys talking about?" Christina says, looking between the two of us.

"Nothing," I mumble.

Tris knowing something is incredibly different than Tris and all of her friends. If I can keep my private issues from Christina and Will, I'm going to.

"Alright," I say, finally.

"Everybody in my car, let's go." I wave them towards the front door.

Cara and I load Tris into the backseat of my car first, and she immediately rests her head against the window, closing her eyes.

When I move around to take the driver's side, Christina is staring at my car open-mouthed.

"What?" I ask her.

"Nothing…" she says softly. "I'm just wondering why Tris never told me that you drive a Mercedes."

"Why would she? Tris doesn't know anything about cars," Will says.

She turns to him, the same surprised expression on her face. "You knew about the Mercedes?"

Will shrugs.

"He's best friends with my sister. He's at my house a lot."

I let out a small sigh. Christina's reaction is exactly the reason I don't want to take Tris home. If this is the reaction I'm getting on my car, I can't imagine what Christina's reaction would be to the whole picture of my life.

"It was a birthday gift," I say, irritation in my voice.

"From who? The Pope?" Christina says sarcastically.

I look at her sharply and she makes a face.

"Sorry. I just don't see many teenagers driving a Mercedes SUV."

"Just get in, please." She follows my instruction, squeezing into the back seat with Tris and Will.

Cara takes the seat up front, and I'm grateful for that. She knows better than to talk to me while my anxiety is this high.

In reality, I don't have to worry at all. Everyone is too intoxicated to make heavy conversation.

It makes for a quiet car ride.

We end up dropping off Christina first.

I watch until she makes it all the way in the door before starting towards Will and Cara's. Once we get there, Will hops out immediately and practically trips over himself to get inside, but Cara pauses once she has her car door shut and leans through the window to talk to me.

"You okay?"

I shrug.

"Sure," I say, gripping the steering wheel.

"It's going to be fine, Tobias. She was going to learn your secret eventually. That's how relationships work."

I glance back at Tris; she's sleeping with her head against the window. She looks peaceful and calm, and I wish that I was on the same level.

"It's not a secret, it's just…"

"I know you don't like bringing anyone into your world," she says gently.

"But I think if you're going to try it with anyone, it should be Tris."

"I'm just not ready for him to know about this yet, Cara," I say in a small voice.

"I know. But I think you have time. He's in New York. That's like 800 miles of distance. If he finds out about this, I'm personally going to submit him for testing because he can't be that all knowing."

I crack a smile.

"You're right. It'll be fine," I say, trying desperately to convince myself.

Cara leans back, waving a little.

"Call me if you need anything."

I watch her until she makes it through the door, then I exit the car, moving around to Tris' side. I open the door and easily lift her and transfer her to the front seat.

She wakes up for a moment, blinking up at me.

"Hi…" she says sleepily.

"Hey, party girl," I say, brushing my fingers along her cheek. "How are you doing?"

"I might vomit again."

"That's okay. We'll wait a few minutes to be sure."

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"My place. Is that alright?"

She nods a little and then turns her head into the seat, closing her eyes again.