Tobias wakes up around noon, thinking it's like any other sunday. He's planning on cooking some eggs for himself, watching some TV, and just relaxing before the week begins again and he has to deal with his haywire schedule.

These past few weeks have been incredibly busy for him. While he's setting up an entire gallery for opening, he's also still juggling his job with Eaton Enterprises, which he has yet to quit, because evidently, Tobias still does not have the balls to stand up to his father.

He's working with two artists for this upcoming opening, both who are very talented. He is grateful for the opportunity to represent them and showcase their work. His website designer has really been his saving grace, though. Kevin knows all sorts of technological stuff that Tobias has no idea about, so now there's a new website for his gallery that looks incredibly professionally done. They're taking photos this week for the site, and then invitations for his opening will be sent out soon after.

All of this does feel incredibly fast for Tobias, and it's really because he's never worked harder at anything. He leaves Eaton Enterprises at 5 every weekday to work in the gallery, and oftentimes doesn't get home till 11 at night. These past few weeks, as soon as his head has hit the pillow sleep instantly consumes him, which is something that's never happened to him before. Then, he usually wakes up at 7 in the morning to do more gallery work before heading back into his boring office job at 9.

His eyes seem to always have permanent dark circles underneath them now, and his skin has reverted to a sickly pale color. He's exhausted. But for once, this exhaustion seems to have some purpose. He's doing something he loves. He loves art, he loves being around it, he loves discussing it, and he loves having it as his career. He has enough saved to live comfortably for a while once he quits Eaton Enterprises, but once he quits, that's it. His father's financial support is gone. In some ways, it's a relief. He will no longer be tied to the world of Marcus Eaton. He will be cut off completely, his own man, not the shell of a person he used to be, trudging through life. But in others, it's worrying. How is he going to do in the real world without the cushion of his father's money to support him? He's already looking to sell his car as well, which should make him a lot of money… but still, what if it's not enough? What if this gallery fails? What will he do then? Tris would tell him to have faith, to stop worrying, that he's capable of all of this, and that he's made it this far.

Tris… the only downside to him being so productive these past few weeks is he's barely had time to speak to her. They've texted back and forth a couple times, but mostly about mundane subjects, making small talk to check in. He hasn't seen her since they visited his gallery together last month.

Her absence has been hard for Tobias to manage. He knows she's incredibly busy with school, and also fretting over her college decision, and he's tried to communicate how busy he has been with her as well… but he misses her. He misses her kisses, her laughter, her affection, her constant reassurance. He misses how any conversation shared between the two of them was stimulating and eye opening, he misses her wit, her beautiful eyes, the way her cheeks light ablaze whenever he gives her a compliment. Maybe he should use his free sunday to call her, to get together… but for some reason he can't bring himself to.

He doesn't even know what they are… they kissed, and then he indefinitely let her down on New Year's. She's said she's forgiven him for that, but he could still sense hesitance from her going forward. She didn't want to jump into anything too quickly, she didn't want to get hurt, and he understands. The day they visited his gallery together they parted ways pretty open endedly. They were still non-committal, and now it has been weeks since they've spoken verbally to one another, so Tobias assumes whatever they had has died out? He doesn't know, and that thought nearly kills him, but honestly, what did he think?

She's going to college out of state, he's opening his business here. Their fling and friendship was fun while it lasted, but it's just not practical anymore, they're both moving on, Tobias supposes, though the thought of that kills him. He really doesn't want to move on from Tris, not really. She's the reason this damned gallery is even happening, and knowing her has made him a better man all around. While he has also made minimal effort to contact her, she has done the exact same. She hasn't been asking to hang out, or expressing any interest whatsoever in a conversation that lasts more than a couple texts, and he's been too afraid to do so himself. What if she's lost interest now that he's been so absorbed with his gallery?

He wouldn't blame her. She's probably moved on, and Tobias should try and do the same. He vows to at least invite her to his opening, though.

He enters the kitchen, rubbing at his eyes and trudging over to the fridge to grab the eggs.

"You look like a zombie."

Tobias glances up to glare at Zeke for the comment, but then furrows his brows. He and Shauna are sitting on the floor of the TV area, and the furniture has been cleared out. There's a red picnic blanket with scattered rose petals and plush pillows on the carpet. A picnic basket lies in the center of the blanket, and Zeke and Shauna are both sipping wine out of plastic cups.

Tobias sees a heart boxed shape of chocolates in Shauna's lap, as well as a plush teddy bear next to her. "What's… going on?" He asks his friends, utterly confused.

"While you may have just woken up, my friend, for most of us it is lunch time," Zeke states.

"Well yeah… but what's with the…" Tobias aimlessly gestures to whatever the hell they did with the TV area.

Shauna gives him a look of pity, "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"It's Valentine's Day…" Zeke answers, his lips pressed together. "We decided to have an indoor picnic this year."

Oh… it's not any other Sunday. Tobias honestly, genuinely, forgot. He's never done anything on this day in the past, but he'd at least been aware of it, never surprised when he would see tacky decorations at the coffee shop, or some cheesy present that Zeke got for Shauna. Just mildly annoyed. This year, however, with all the shit he has going on, the day completely flew over his head.

"Well, uh, Happy Valentine's Day," Tobias wishes his friends, scratching the back of his head. He feels very awkward now. "I'll just… get out of your hair."

He spins around on his heel to go back to his room, but Shauna calls out to him. "Tobias, wait!"

Tobias hates the sad look she sees in her eyes when he turns back around to her. "Do you not… have plans?" She asks, glancing sideways to Zeke.

"Uh, nope," Tobias answers, looking up at the ceiling.

"So… Tris?" Zeke asks.

Tobias just folds his arms and shrugs, not willing to give up any information.

"Come on, man. We did not go through all this shit for you on New Year's for you guys to not even be together on Valentine's Day!" Zeke exclaims.

"You literally ran through the freezing weather for her, Tobias," Shauna muses, sounding very sad.

Tobias just shrugs. He hates being here, he hates this feeling, he hates that Tris is basically lost on him now. He misses her terribly, and the only thing that's distracted him from that these past few weeks was his work. Standing here, on Valentine's Day, amongst his two best friends who are incredibly in love, while they interrogate him about the woman he was falling in love with, who is basically not in his life anymore… really sucks.

"Who ended it? You or her?" Zeke presses.

Tobias sighs, taking a seat at one of the kitchen stools and pressing the heels of his palms into his face. "It wasn't really ended in so many words…" he relents the information to them.

Zeke gives him a blank stare, "Okay."

"Things just sort of fell off. Naturally."

"So, you guys like, mutually ghosted each other?" Shauna inquires, giving Tobias somewhat of a judgemental look.

"Well, I wouldn't say it like that. We've just both been super busy… and we were never like dating. I just… didn't want to be clingy, or expect her to work her schedule around my busy hours with the gallery."

"So you just stopped talking to her. Didn't even ask her if she might like to do something today?"

"To be fair, she didn't ask me either."

"Probably because she didn't want to impose!"

"Well, I didn't want to impose either!" Tobias shoots back.

"So, what I'm hearing is that both of you are too scared to reach out to the other because you think the other has lost interest," Zeke states, shaking his head. "This is so sad, man."

"It's not-" Tobias cuts himself off, frustrated. "What if she did lose interest?"

Shauna snorts, "I highly doubt that's likely. She cares about you a lot, Tobias. That doesn't just go away. She was the one who pushed you to open this gallery, too, so I highly doubt she's upset about that. My guess is she probably just wanted to give you space with how busy you've been, and she probably thought that if you were interested and available to hang out, you would reach out. You know how Tris is. She's… hesitant and probably scared of rejection, especially after everything that happened with Nita."

Tobias blinks at Shauna a few times, nodding. What she's saying makes a lot of sense, and Tris definitely has the right to feel hesitant. Tobias had told her that he would prove to her how much she meant to him after New Year's, that he would be constantly reassuring her, and showing just how much he wanted to spend time with her. Clearly, he's fallen short on that. He admits to himself that he had a responsibility to uphold whatever they had after New Year's that he didn't follow through with, so Tris may be feeling dejected as ever, wondering why he stopped speaking with her.

On the other hand, he can't imagine Tris getting that upset over someone like him. He imagines her cozied up in her penthouse, reading a novel in her pink silk robe, not a care in the world. He shakes his head slightly at himself. His insecurities are causing him to be unfair, he knows, it's not Tris's fault.

He remembers how things were the last time they had seen one another, how they'd kissed so passionately in his bed, how Tobias felt that they were headed in a serious direction. Life gets in the way of things sometimes, but if you really want things to work with someone, you put in the effort.

"You're… right," he tells Shauna. "I… gotta go."

Tobias runs his hand through his hair on the elevator up to the Prior penthouse. He glances down at the box of chocolates and bouquet of roses he holds, wondering if this is the right gesture. After all, they aren't on any Zeke and Shauna level of dating, but he wanted to do something to show that he cares for her.

He feels idiotic, coming like this after they've barely said any words to each other these past few weeks. He should've at least texted her beforehand to let her know he'd be dropping by, but decided against it. She'll like his surprise, right? Fuck.

This is stupid, and all wrong. They've drifted too much from one another… and he waited too long. He doesn't even know what she's been up to, if she'll have plans today, if she'll be interested in seeing him.

Grow a pair Tobias, if she's not home, just leave the presents for her with a note, and go. Someone has to be home, though, because when the door man called the penthouse informing them of Tobias's arrival, he was approved.

He exits the elevator with his heart beating in his throat, glancing around the foyer.

"Mr. Tobias!" It is Maria's voice calling out to him, and Tobias's lips stretch into a small smile when she sees her rushing toward him. He embraces her in a gentle hug, and chuckles as she ushers to get his coat off his shoulders. "Have not seen you in so long!"

"Sorry, Maria. I don't know how much Tris has told you, but I've been quite busy these past few weeks."

"Si, Beatriz was muy triste con tu ausencia."

Tobias raises an eyebrow. He has no idea what Maria just said, the only words he caught onto were "si" and "Beatriz". "Sorry?" He questions.

Maria chuckles, patting his shoulder. "Beatriz was muy sad without you," she translates.

"Oh," Tobias feels something in his heart sink. "Well, um, is she here now?" He holds up his gifts for her.

Something in Maria's face changes and she quickly shakes her head, "No. Not now. You can… wait in la cocina." She begins to pull him over to the kitchen but Tobias is stopped on his walk over when he sees several photo prints laid out on the center table in the foyer.

He ignores Maria's protests and begins glancing them over, enamored, because all of them are Tris. They're professionally done, looking like some sort of photoshoot, and if Tobias had to guess he would say these are Natalie's clothes she's modeling.

Tobias remembers in the past, Tris would talk about how her mother was always pressuring her to model some of her clothes, to be the new face of her designs. Tris had always had qualms about that, and Tobias understood her reservations. She wasn't super fond of the spotlight, and was a little camera shy, but now, looking at these photos, Tobias has no clue why.

The clothes she's modelling are gorgeous, yes, but Tris could also be wearing a sack and look stunning. Her icy blue eyes pop out in every picture, her usual stringy blond hair is smoothed out, like how it was on her birthday, and it floats around her face angelically.

Her sharp cheekbones are accentuated, only emphasizing every cold stare she gives the camera, as she poses in variety. Tobias pushes the photos on top to the side to see the ones that are lying underneath, and he feels a chill go through his spine when he sees what they are of.

Tris isn't alone in these next shots. Peter Hayes is with her, also modelling some stylish clothes. With his arm slung around her shoulder, and their faces pressed up together side by side, they look like the perfect, picturesque couple.

Tobias vividly remembers Tris telling him about her history with Peter. She said it was never serious, and he believed her, especially because of the distaste she expressed when she had brought him up. Clearly, something's changed though, because in these photos they look perfectly content together.

The last thing Tobias sees on the table is truly icing on the cake. He picks up the tabloid magazine that has a paparazzi shot of Tris and Peter on the cover. From what he can tell, they're walking side by side through the city, talking with one another. They aren't touching at all, though. Peter's hands are stuffed in his pockets, and Tris's arms are folded across her chest. They are again, both dressed incredibly stylishly. The headline reads something about Natalie Prior's mysterious daughter, and Senator Hayes' playboy son being spotted spending time together in the city.

Tobias shakes his head at the magazine and tosses it back on the table. He supposes she's moved on, then, and worse, with someone as awful as Peter Hayes. He can't… be here anymore. Waiting for her to show up like a fool. He needs to go somewhere to clear his head. He glances back to Maria to see her looking at him with wide eyes. Clearly she didn't want him to see what he had just seen.

"Natalie want Beatriz and Mr. Peter to spend time together para publicidad," Maria desperately tries to explain, grabbing Tobias's arm as he tries to leave.

Tobias sighs. Whatever the reason may be, Tris clearly seemed open to it, not taking Tobias into account at all. Maybe it's his fault for letting her slip away, he obviously can't take her for granted, but Peter? Of all people? "Oh, yeah? Then where is Tris now? On Valentine's Day?"

Maria presses her lips together, glancing at the ground.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Tobias hands the chocolates and bouquet of roses to Maria. "Tell her these are from me, and that I wish her all the best."

"Wait-"

Tobias doesn't let Maria finish her sentence, marching off to the elevator, trying to ignore the hopelessness and anger and loss that he feels. It's his own damn fault. He can never get anything right in his sorry ass life.

He's about to press the elevator button to go back down, when it dings on its own, and the doors slide open. There stand Tris and Peter, a couple feet apart from one another. Tris looks beautiful, in a soft pink coat with a white top and designer jeans, a stylish beret sitting on her head.

They seem to be in mid conversation, but when Tris sees Tobias she stops, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh my God, Tobias," she breathes.

Thank you all for the continued support :) Sorry to leave you like this. The next chapter should be up soon.

-Kiki