Hey all! I know this is a little bit late so I apologize.
Thank you so much for the support on my last chapter and of my work in general. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude!
Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent.
The next few weeks after Tris's party come and go quickly. Winter has arrived in Chicago, harsh and bitter, and Tris has thrown herself into school work and her Columbia application which is due in a week's time now.
During free period at school today, all high school students are required to attend a fair to pick their Christmas charity projects. Many big companies are always at Tris's school looking for volunteers to assist with their benefits and charity projects, and it honestly is a good way for students to gain important connections and get things like internships.
As Tris walks around the fancy auditorium she sees various names that she recognizes on the booths that are set up. Wells Fargo. Exxon. Microsoft. All of them have several students already lined up in front of them, though.
She's glancing around for anything that might seem appealing when her eyes catch on a booth. Eaton Enterprises. Tobias's father's company. Her father's old friend's company. Her feet draw her over to the booth before her mind can form a logical reason as to why she's going over there. The booth has no line in front of it and the young woman running it seems to be falling asleep. Tris clears her throat.
The woman's head snaps up and she blinks a few times. "Oh! Hello! My bad, it's just been an exhausting couple of hours and there hasn't exactly been a huge crowd here to keep me awake."
"Oh, it's okay." Tris says softly.
"So, you're uh, interested in working with Eaton Enterprises for our Christmas charity?"
"Um… yeah! What kind of work are you guys doing?"
"We are teaming up with Feeding America to set up various food pantries around Chicago during the holiday season, since it's a huge time of need, especially in a city like this in the cold weather. Here's a packet with some more information." She glances around the booth, ruffling up some papers while she looks for the desired item. She lifts up a stack of business cards and then smiles with relief before handing Tris a booklet. As Tris reads through it, she realizes that the information is well thought out and organized. She wouldn't have expected this from someone like Marcus, as he doesn't seem to have a philanthropic bone in his body. It's most likely because it gives his company good press, then.
"I'm Christina Allen by the way, it's nice to meet you." The woman says cheerfully.
"I'm Tris, nice to meet you too!" Tris purposefully does not mention her last name, because she can already foresee the look of recognition and the 'are you Natalie Prior's daughter?' that she always gets. "I'd like to join."
"Yay!" Christina claps her hands. "It's usually so hard to secure high school students, my boss is going to be so happy with me. This project also gives you at least 30 service hours, looks really good on resumes, and will earn you a letter of recommendation from Marcus Eaton."
"Oh! Okay, cool!" Tris says as nonchalantly as possible while Christina hands the clipboard to her, before signing her name and contact information. So much for remaining anonymous then.
"Beatrice!" Tris turns in the direction of the voice. It's Caleb, walking side by side with Susan. "What have we here?" He asks, taking in the booth. "Oh, Eaton Enterprises! You know mom and dad are friends with Marcus Eaton?"
"Uh, no. I didn't." She fibs.
Caleb and Susan go over the information with Christina as well, and then sign up themselves. Tris feels relieved, knowing she'll have some friends volunteering with her. Even if it is just her brother and his girlfriend.
"Okay, so the big event happens in 5 weeks time, right before Christmas. It's not mandatory that you attend it because we know that people often have holiday plans and most of your jobs are just going to be with organizing the event beforehand, but still, we could always use the extra hands. You're going to be meeting with the rest of the team every weekend for the next few weeks at one of Mr. Eaton's hotels, The Anomaly. It's on the West side. Marcus's son, Tobias Eaton, will be running the meeting. He's actually the one who organized this whole project. You'll get to meet with him and then you'll get put in a team to work with for the remainder of this project."
Tobias. Tris's heart flutters a little bit. She was expecting him to be somewhat involved in this project, after all that's what drew her over here. But he's running the damn thing? Wow. She can't help but be a little impressed. It also makes sense why the plans were so succinct, they were his, not Marcus's.
Tris, Caleb, and Susan nod at Christina's words and Christina beams at them. "Okay, the first meeting is this Saturday, from 3-5. Be there on time please! We're really excited to be working with you."
Try as she might, Tris can't fight off the excitement rising in her as well.
Saturday approaches quickly, and Tris finds herself trying extra hard with her appearance that afternoon. When she comes downstairs Caleb gives her an odd look.
"What?" Tris asks self consciously.
"I've just never seen your eyelashes look so… long. Unless there's a party but that's usually mom forcing you into looking good."
Tris lifts her chin a little bit, walking over to the counter and grabbing a muffin. "Well, maybe I'm starting to care more about how I look."
"There are firsts for everything, I suppose."
Tris glares at him.
As they head into the elevator Caleb says, "Susan is going to meet us there. And Alex is already parked outside waiting for us."
They meet Alex outside as usual and they exchange pleasantries before heading off to their destination. Chicago is freezing in this time of winter so Tris finds herself wearing several layers and an overcoat, Caleb is dressed similarly.
A few minutes later they're at their destination, and they both thank Alex before exiting the vehicle. Tris looks up at the massive hotel. It's just one of many that Marcus Eaton owns in Chicago, and one of several that he owns in the country. She's definitely passed by this building on multiple occasions before, but she never thought to be curious about what it was.
"Beatrice! Caleb!" Susan shouts to them from a few feet down the sidewalk. Both parties walk toward each other and meet halfway, Caleb hugging Susan hello, and Tris nodding at her politely.
"Shall we go in then?" Susan asks.
Tris allows her and Caleb to take the lead in front of her, her social anxiety getting the better of her. They inform the front desk that they're here for the Feeding America meeting and then they're directed to the banquet hall.
After crossing through several hallways and corridors the group reaches the large banquet hall. Tris is mildly surprised to find it bustling with several more people than she anticipated, and already, she finds her eyes subconsciously glancing around for Tobias. Snap out of it.
"There you three are!" They hear a friendly voice say, and they turn to see Christina, beaming at them. She looks overwhelmed and beaten down, carrying mismatched stacks of papers, her shirt rumpled up, and her hair sticking out on several sides. Nevertheless she maintains her cheerful aura. "So I kind of misinformed you of the time sequence today, my bad. There's rosters over there and your groups are already picked out for you. You're going to go in and meet with them first. And I don't think Tobias is meeting with everybody overall today. He said we need to work in small groups before we can put everything together, large scale, but truth be told I think he's just shy." She rolls her eyes. "He's probably around here somewhere, though, if you're interested in introducing yourself. He's a great person to know. He's also working individually with some groups today as well. Anyways, go have fun! We're so excited to have you!"
The three of them thank her before finding their rosters. Tris has to skim a few lists before she finds her name. Media outreach. She continues glancing at the list and she also spots Susan's name on it. "Susan, we're together." Tris says, feeling a rush of relief. She'll have a friendly face in her group.
Susan smiles shyly and walks over to inspect the list. "Hmm… media outreach." She muses.
"I'm over here, in budgeting and finances." Caleb says sadly, giving Susan a forlorn look.
"Mmm… sucks." Tris says, then grabs Susan's arm to find their group.
"Wait," Susan pulls back to glance at the list again, "It says our team leader is Tobias Eaton. He's the guy running this whole thing, right? Marcus Eaton's son?"
"Umm… yeah I think so." Tris says, feigning disinterest, ignoring the picking up of her heartbeat. Her and Susan walk around a bit before they finally see a young man holding up a sign that says 'Media Outreach', the group has about 9 or 10 people in it and none of them are Tobias.
"Hi, this is our group, we think?" Tris says to the young man, approaching tentatively.
"Great! Can I get your names?"
"Tris Prior and Susan Black."
He nods and checks them off of his list. "You can just have a seat on the floor. We're waiting for boss man to arrive." It's a little weird for Tris to think of Tobias as 'boss man' but every time she's encountered him she's met a different persona. Why should this time be any different?
Her and Susan sit on the carpeted floor, and Tris is oddly comforted by the aroma of coffee and business, and the cozily heated room. She's just thinking about curling up on the floor and taking a quick nap when she sees him approaching from the other side of the hall.
He's dressed in a fashionable black and white suit and is glancing down at several papers as he walks up to the group, not looking up. He stands in front of them, still flipping through sheets, as they all await his acknowledgement.
Finally he sets his papers down and lifts his head to regard the group. His eyes find Tris's and he holds her gaze for a few seconds before glancing around to everyone else. "Great." He says, after he's scanned the group. "Glad to see you all. I'm really excited about this project and everything we're doing with it. I've been working really hard on it for the past few months and I think it's going to pay off." He then glances to the young man who was holding up the sign. "Do you have the roster, Tyson?"
Tyson nods a bit too enthusiastically and says 'yes sir', before handing Tobias his clipboard. Tris notices Tobias subtly roll his eyes. After inspecting it for a few seconds Tobias looks back up at everyone. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Tobias Eaton. I've been heavily involved with Eaton Enterprise's charity projects for the past couple of years but this is the first one that I'm running on my own. If you have any suggestions or questions, please don't hesitate to run them by me or my assistant Christina Allen. While I'm running the overall event, I made the decision to work with Media Outreach for the first couple of weeks, because it's definitely the trickiest part of this event to tackle and it matters a lot. Not just getting people to cover this event, but also how we present ourselves. Right?"
The group nods collectively, and Tris realizes that she has yet again, found a new persona of Tobias's. When she first encountered him she was the standoffish brooding bad boy, then at her party he was an apathetic young man being held tightly by daddy's leash, and now he's… clear? Concise? Confident? And actually seems to enjoy what he's discussing. It takes her by surprise, yet she can't help but feel a tug of admiration as well.
Tobias continues speaking, "So… first things first. I need someone who is willing to talk to the press with me. We have a few potential media outlets covering the event and they'll want to interview some of us and I can't do it alone. So… anyone?"
Crickets. Tris knows that she is not fit for the job whatsoever. What with her social anxiety, and the fact that she's not particularly articulate with her words as it is. It seems everyone else feels the same way about themselves though, because no one volunteers.
"Okay…" Tobias says, unbothered. "If no one's going to volunteer then I'll have to choose someone myself." They hold their breaths as they wait to see who he's going to pick. His eyes scan the group before falling on Tris's. Oh fuck, Tris thinks miserably.
"Tris." Tobias smirks a little bit, and Tris grows mortified and irritated as everyone's heads turn toward her. "It's going to be a pleasure working with you."
Despite her annoyance with him, Tris is also a bit flattered that he chose her. But then she realizes that she's going to have to talk with news outlets and probably be on camera and she grows mortified again. She knows if she told Tobias she genuinely didn't want to do it then he would choose someone else but she doesn't want to cause a scene. She puts on her best smile. "Likewise."
Tobias nods as if that was the appropriate response and then addresses the rest of the group. "I'm going to be working on interview etiquette with Tris, and Tyson here will go over visuals and presentation with you, as well as what outlets we should consider contacting to cover the event. Okay, break."
Tris hesitantly stands up and approaches Tobias while everyone else in the group gathers together to brainstorm. He regards her for a moment and then says, "I was wondering why I saw your name on the list this morning."
"My school has us do holiday charity work every year." She tells him.
"Is there a reason why you chose this one?" He asks, curiously.
She shrugs, even though she knows damn well the reason why she chose it. "Honestly the lines were really full on all the other booths, and Christina was pretty welcoming when I met her."
"Mmm…" Tobias says like he doesn't quite believe her.
"But also, I went through the information beforehand. This is great work that you've done so far with organizing the event."
Tobias shrugs modestly but Tris sees a faint smile on his face. "We're glad to have you on the team then." He crosses his arms and then tilts his head down at her. "You're okay with doing the interviews with me, right? I probably shouldn't have volunteered you so fast but I figured you would be used to the spotlight given that you're Natalie Prior's daughter."
"Umm… yeah. I'll manage. But believe it or not I'm not in the press too often. My mother kept our lives pretty private growing up and as I grew older and got more opportunities, I just didn't want to take them. My mother's been pushing me to get into it more though, to promote her new clothing."
"Wow, so you don't have paparazzi stalking your every move?"
Tris shrugs. "Not really, I guess. I think I got lucky in life because if my mother had been more open to sharing her private life when I was younger, then my life could look completely different right now. At least I have some privacy. People only recognize me by name."
"Well, not for it to seem like we're just using you for your connections but uh, having Natalie Prior's daughter working with us will definitely help with media outreach. You're okay with us exercising that, right?"
Oddly, Tris doesn't mind. "I mean… if it's for a good cause." She shrugs.
Tobias smiles at her, a real genuine smile, and then takes out a folder to jot some notes down. "Perfect."
He glances over to the rest of the group, who seem to be hard at work. "Truthfully, I don't really have much interview etiquette to work on you with. I typically just wing these things anyways and we won't really know what to say until closer to the event." He admits. "I just needed some time off because I've been working my ass off this morning and Tyson over there has seemed eager to prove himself." He gives Tyson a look of disdain.
"Oh…" Tris doesn't know exactly what to say to that revelation but a thrill runs through her at the prospect of Tobias calling her over here under false pretenses.
Tobias presses his lips together and looks a little embarrassed. "Uh- unless there's anything you want to ask me? Like, any questions about talking to people?" He laughs nervously. "If not we can just… talk? Sorry, I didn't really think this through." He scratches the back of his neck.
Tris laughs. "No, no. It's all good. Not what I was expecting my service hours to entail, but I really can't complain."
Tobias laughs in return. "Okay… I'm glad then. As for interviewing it's really not a big deal. You can probably already tell that I'm not the social type, but the questions that they ask are pretty straightforward and easy to answer. Especially after we've been doing all this work on it. They're not long at all either."
Tris feels some relief. This does ease her nerves a little bit, and she also has quite a bit of time to worry about the interview.
A heavy silence falls between them after that, and as Tris is contemplating how to break it, she suspects he is as well. A question arises in Tris's mind that she's been curious about for a while.
"So… how did you become so well versed in Art History?" She asks him, teasing a bit.
He furrows his eyebrows for a second and then his face flashes with realization when he realizes she's referring to the night at the tattoo parlor. "Oh- well, I don't know. I get a lot of tattoos, you know, so naturally I've also taken an interest in art. And I was homeschooled most of my life too, so my education wasn't super outstanding. I researched a lot of famous art and artists in my free time because it was intriguing to me. If I wasn't stuck in this world with Marcus Eaton as my father it might be something I would consider as a career. Like… owning a gallery or something. I don't know, it's kind of dumb." He says almost bashfully.
"No, it's not dumb. Honestly that's a really cool ambition to have." Tris reassures him. She's beginning to grow giddy at the fact that he's revealing more of his true persona to him.
"Thanks…" Tobias says but he still looks a little embarrassed. "And what about you? I know you said you have your sights set on Columbia but is there a particular major you want to explore?"
It's Tris's turn to get embarrassed now. She doesn't usually talk about this side of herself. But he shared with her so it's only fair. "Um… in a perfect world I'd get to be an English Lit major and work in journalism or publishing. But in my mother's world I need to major in business or econ. Law is acceptable as well. My brother Caleb has his sights set on a biochem major which is also suitable but since I was never given the STEM gene I don't have a lot of options."
Tobias grins ryely. "Oh, how different the world would be if our parents didn't try to control all of our choices."
"I can't even imagine the person I'd be if my mom just let me make even a fourth of my own decisions." Maybe it was for her own good though, she might very much be a mess if her mother didn't tell her exactly what to do for certain situations. I mean, Tris already feels like a mess on the inside, but at least on the outside she can display a completely different image.
"Is that why you were out getting a tattoo at midnight? To make your own decisions?" Tobias asks her. Tris is worried that he's mocking her at first, but his face seems quite serious and interested. She's annoyed at the fact that he's reading her so easily, though, when he's still such a mystery to her.
"Yeah, pretty much. It was honestly my first act of rebellion, besides being completely inebriated at my party." Tris admits.
"Really? I had no idea." Tobias says with mock seriousness.
Tris rolls her eyes, her cheeks flushing. "Oh, shut up. It was a stressful night for me. What about you, though? How do you make your own decisions?"
"Well, moving out of my dad's place wasn't exactly easy. And I was honestly just planning on getting my own job completely, but I really enjoy the charity aspect of this job, and I've become somewhat invested in some of the other places in Chicago I've bought. Not to mention the fact that I need to be financially stable. It's not a bad life, though. It's just restraining and suffocating sometimes."
"It seems like you have everything pretty balanced out." Tris observes, with a twinge of jealousy in her voice.
Tobias sighs. "I mean I guess… but here's a question for you. Columbia… is it really your dream? Because honestly working with an event like this could also help further your journalism career if that's something you would want to pursue. I'm just saying."
Tris has never let herself explore any other options besides Columbia, but she also knows deep down that it's not her dream. She's not sure what her dream would be, though. "I guess not… but I can still do journalism at Columbia…" Even though her mom would never allow it.
"For sure. But that's not the point. The point is choosing your own path. There are plenty of other schools that have great journalism departments. You never know until you allow yourself to do some research." Tobias points all of this out as if he's familiar with it, like he's been through something similar. Tris is grateful for his interest and concern over her situation. It makes her feel… acknowledged. She's never really had anyone to talk about this stuff with before.
"I mean, you don't have to imagine how difficult my mother is." Tris tells him.
Tobias nods. "I know it's scary, living in this bubble for so long, and sometimes it's easier to have your future mapped out for you. But you'll never be happy that way. And if you keep looking for excuses and reasons to not even think about trying something then you're gonna keep feeling stuck."
The words resonate with Tris. He's right. Though he didn't say it outright he's basically calling her a coward, which isn't too far from the truth. And while Tobias still seems held back, he definitely seems as if he's becoming more free than Tris anticipates herself to be at his age. "I take it you've dealt with something similar?"
"Noooo." Tobias says, as if she didn't just state the obvious. "Look. A conversation is all you have to start with. Just plant the new idea in your mother's head. She probably doesn't even know how you feel because to our parents, we grew up with everything they wanted as a child. Our lack of freedom has probably never been given a second thought by them. A conversation, but then you have to start pushing with her. Our parents are human, ya know. They give in, sometimes."
Tris mulls over all of his advice. It makes perfect sense but it's also quite daunting. One time Tris wanted to change the color of her walls and her mom made a huge fuss about it. But she can't keep giving into the easier and safer option. Tobias is right. She'll never be happy if she does. "Noted," Tris says to him, "Thank you."
Tobias opens his mouth to respond, but they're interrupted by Christina rushing up to them. "Hello, hello. I just need a work in progress statement about everything your group accomplished today and everything else you all have planned." She asks, a notepad in hand and a pen tucked behind her ear.
Tobias twists his mouth to the side. "Theyhave been brainstorming about what outlets we can reach out to and what our message and presentation should look like."
Christina raises her eyebrows. "Okay… and what about you two?"
Tobias scratches the back of his neck. "Interview etiquette?" He says it like it's a question and Christina seems rather unimpressed.
"Interview. Etiquette." She deadpans.
"Yep." Tobias says, standing his ground.
Christina sighs and jots something down on her notepad. "You're going to be the death of me, Eaton." She mutters, before heading over to the main group.
When she's gone Tobias and Tris break out into fits of laughter. "Oops." Tobias says. "Maybe we should've been doing more work."
"You think?" Tris asks, glancing back at Christina who looks rather annoyed.
"Tobias!" Another young man in a fancy suit calls out to him from a few feet away, cocking his head.
"Oh shit…" Tobias checks his watch. "I've got a meeting to head to, right now… But Tris," he looks at her straight in the eyes, "that feeling that you had when you got your first tattoo? That could be your whole life, ya know. You just have to be brave."
His words send a course of adrenaline through her. Be brave. She nods at him, "Thanks Tobias."
He gives her some sort of half smile and then walks away. She rejoins the rest of the group and gets caught up on the project, but the conversation from earlier weighs heavily on her mind still. It does seem like something really intimate to discuss with someone you barely know, yet Tris has never been more comfortable talking about that sort of stuff than with him.
Tobias does not return to the meeting to Tris's dismay, but she's glad she got some work done with her group and is actually putting weight behind her service hours. 2 hours later, Christina thanks everyone for coming and sends them off.
Tris tells Susan to go ahead with Caleb as she stays behind, looking to see any sign of Tobias. She's not sure why. To say goodbye? You're so dumb, she tells herself, hastily making her way to the exit.
When she's outside she spots him, standing on the sidewalk corner. He's holding something up to his mouth and her stomach plummets when she realizes what it is. A cigarette.
Sighing, Tris decides to approach him against her better judgement. When she's a few feet away she speaks up, "That's a really bad habit, you know?"
Tobias looks up at her in mild surprise, and then just shrugs. "It keeps me at bay."
Tris sighs as he takes a long long drag from the cancer stick, she's pretty sure he's doing it just to aggravate her as well. "Look, you gave me some life advice so I'm going to give you some. Don't smoke. I can name at least 3 family members who have died from lung cancer, I'm sure you can do the same."
"Dying isn't the worst thing in the world." He responds. And brooding Tobias has arrived again.
"You say that now but when you're hooked up to machines in the hospital and it hurts to breathe and it's slow and agonizing, I'm sure you will think differently."
Tobias looks up at her as if he's just now realized that she's being serious. And that she's worried for him. It feels so useless, being worried about a practical stranger, but she doesn't know how long he's had this habit, and the thought of something damaging happening to his health makes her insides writhe.
He drops the cigarette onto the ground and steps on it firmly. "Okay, Tris. There you go. I'm sorry. Are you happy now?" He asks, not very kindly either.
Tris feels her face growing red with indignation. "I'll be happy when you quit for good. Because however pleasant it makes you feel, it certainly is not worth your own life. Especially when you preach helping people and giving back, but when it comes to yourself you inhale a cancer infused stick like it's nobody's business." Tris snaps.
Tobias sighs, dragging a hand over his face. "It's an old habit… I promise. I stopped for a while. It's just that things have been going on… and it helps."
"Okay, then get a journal! Meditate! Exercise! Don't slowly kill yourself." Tris is aware she's not being very sympathetic, but she feels like she has to get her message across.
Tobias's expression changes then, and he nods gravely. "You're right. I'm going to actually try to quit." This sentiment seems genuine, but Tris is still suspicious. However, she lets it slide and nods back.
"Well, I gotta head home," Tobias says, "Zeke and Shauna want me to try some new bar with them."
"Zeke and Shauna, do they know… about your double life?" Tris asks, she couldn't really come up with a better term than 'double life', but it's not like he's Hannah Montana or anything.
Tobias shakes his head. "No. It's not that I'm trying to lie to them, or that I'm ashamed, I just don't want to be treated differently. When I'm with them, I can actually be myself and I don't have to put on a mask. Well that's partly true, I guess. I've never revealed much about my childhood and adolescent experiences with them, so they do see me as somewhat of a mystery. But I dunno, I've realized that where someone comes from matters very little in the grand scheme of things. I do hope to find a place where I can be open and honest about all aspects of me, though. Instead of just feeling confined to two different versions of myself." He presses his lips together.
Tris feels like her heart reaches out and completely threads itself to his in that moment, because she perfectly understands everything he's saying. She definitely knows about being treated differently because of who you are, and about wanting to find a place where you could be all of yourself. The sad thing is, that Tris hasn't felt like a whole person in a while. Ever since her dad left and everything seemed to collapse at once she's felt like a shell of a human more than anything. But maybe she did that to herself.
Tobias is right, she needs to be brave. And these past few weeks, having random chance encounters with a boy who seems to have a similar soul as she does, she's started to believe she could be whole again.
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